The Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, has said he is now even more determined to introduce compulsory calorie counts on food menus, after a new survey revealed that just 7% of food businesses are providing such information voluntarily.

Earlier this year, Minister Varadkar announced that in 2016, all food service outlets, including restaurants and takeaways, would be required to include the calorie details of their meals on their menus at the point where food is ordered, whether this is at a table or a counter.

However, despite being aware of these plans, it appears that the vast majority of food outlets have not embraced this idea. A survey by University College Cork, which was carried out on behalf of the Department of Health, has found that just 7% of businesses are voluntarily providing this information.

"We know that over 95% of consumers in Ireland want the calorie count of meals displayed on menus. It's a proven way of changing consumer behaviour and independent evidence from the USA shows that calorie posting is very effective. So the results of this survey are very surprising," Minister Varadkar commented.

He insisted that the State has made ‘a conscious effort to support businesses', for example, via the provision of an online calorie calculator by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

"I appreciate that it can be difficult for some businesses in particular which change their menus on a regular basis. But when uptake is that low, it's clear that the we need to take further action. I have already obtained Government approval to draft a Bill to make it compulsory for food outlets to display the calorie content of meals. The intention is to have this passed by the Oireachtas and enacted in 2016," the Minister said.

He pointed out that while obesity levels have stabilised, a recent survey showed that 60% of Irish people are overweight.

The Department of Health acknowledges that while no single initiative can tackle this complex problem, ‘a combination of measures, one of which is calorie posting on restaurant menus, should make a difference'.