John Moloney, Minister of State for Equality, Disability and Mental Health.
Do you think you have a healthy lifestyle?
Absolutely not – but I’m in the process of changing. I was in hospital for a check-up last week and I know I need to improve my diet and get more exercise. I gave up cigarettes five weeks ago. I find it tough as I smoked 20 a day. My doctor told me that smoking handicaps my health in all sorts of ways and, at the age of 57, the penny has dropped.
How often do you exercise?
Recently, I’ve started to do more. My aim is to walk for three hours a week, though I don’t always manage it. When I walk around Mountmellick, people say, “Oh there must be an election coming”, so I walk mostly in Dublin.
Do you get your five a day?
I eat vegetables – cauliflower, carrots, cabbage and onions. I had a six-month check-up in July and I’ve been trying to eat better since then. I used to look at fruit as something you brought to someone in hospital.
Do you worry?
I don’t think so. I might get a bit agitated about deadlines, not returning calls as fast as I should or about opinion polls, but it wouldn’t keep me from sleeping.
What do you do to relax?
I read, but not a lot. I regret I’ve never had a hobby or was never into sport. In my 50s, I realise the disadvantage this is from a health and social perspective. I suppose a lot of my downtime is spent following current affairs.
What’s your unhealthiest habit?
Not getting enough exercise and staying up late after meetings. I’m trying to kick the habit of eating after 8pm. I’m very conscious of my mental health. In 2007, I was referred to a psychiatrist with stress caused from pain to the trigeminal nerve in my face. Thank God for the early assessment and I’m fully recovered. I think it’s important to talk openly about mental health. That’s what See Change , a campaign aimed at reducing the stigma associated with mental health, is all about.
In conversation with
JOANNE HUNT
