Health Scan

LIFESTYLE Q&A:Emer Costello, MEP for Dublin

Do you think you have a healthy lifestyle?

I try to have a healthy lifestyle, but it can be difficult as a politician, married to a politician. You are running all the time and having set mealtimes is not a possibility. I joined a swimming club last year, but then autumn comes around and the meetings start and it’s just very difficult to fit everything in.

How often do you exercise?

I’m out nearly every Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning dropping leaflets in my constituency. It’s very good exercise and it does help keen you fit. That would be the main source of exercise.

Do you get your five a day?

I try at the weekends – during the week it’s not as easy. I’d try and have an orange juice and maybe a piece of fruit in the morning. I’m not a big vegetable person, but I eat loads of salads. I like to buy Irish unless there is a compelling reason why something can’t be grown here.

Do you worry?

I don’t think there is anybody who could worry more than I do. I worry about everything. Sometimes, I’d wake up in the middle of the night and start thinking about things and I would not get back to sleep. If I can’t get back to sleep, listening back to John Murray or Pat Kenny will put me back to sleep.

What do you do to relax?

There’s very little time for relaxation. I like to get out to the cinema or to walk in the Phoenix Park. Sometimes on a Sunday afternoon when we’re finished the leaflet drop, Joe [Costello] and myself will take a drive out to Dollymount and read the Sunday newspapers. There’s something relaxing about looking at the sea and the waves.

What’s your unhealthiest habit?

We have a tendency to eat very late. I know the last thing you should do is put on a grill pan, but I can come in from meetings at 10pm and put on a rasher sandwich. My other bad habit is that I’m a complete chocoholic. I have to have a bar of chocolate every day.

In conversation with Joanne Hunt