Food industry representatives have dismissed proposals by the Minister for Health to tax fatty foods in an effort to combat obesity as unfeasible.
Mr Ciaran Fitzgerald, director of the Irish Food and Drink Federation, said Mr Martin's plans would merely make Irish prices less competitive.
The only way to fight obesity was through education about the benefits of healthy eating and exercise, he insisted.
"We have to deal with the fact that children are being dropped off at school, they are not walking to school like they did in the good old days," he said on RTÉ radio this morning. "There is less organised exercise, particularly in primary schools."
Mr Fitzgerald argued the fat content of foods such as meat was lower today than 20 years ago, due to better preparation. "What are we trying to do here? Are we trying to raise money for the Government and put up the cost of production and consumption of food, or are we actually trying to change behaviour?
However, health campaigners welcomed the proposals, which a Department of Health spokesman said was being considered "very tentatively" at this stage. He said if present trends continued, the levy is one of a number of measures that could be considered.
A survey published in April showed that 32 per cent of Irish children were overweight and 10 per cent were obese. The figures also showed that 14 per cent of Irish men and 12 per cent of Irish women were obese.