Vol. 562 No. 4
430 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if there are proposals to expand the school meals scheme in the near future with a view to encompassing more pupils from designated disadvantaged schools; and the number of pupils this will involve. [6135/03]
The school meals programme provides funding for the urban school meals scheme, which operates in conjunction with certain local authorities, as well as individual innovative school meals projects in both urban and rural areas. In 2002, €2.02 million was spent on the school meals programme. It is estimated that some 380 schools, with a total of over 60,000 pupils, benefited from the urban scheme while 105 schools and voluntary organisations received funding which benefited approximately 11,000 children under other projects. My Department received an additional €2.35 million in the budget, which will enable me to enhance and expand this service. It is not possible to quantify the number of additional pupils who will benefit as a result. This is because the extra funding will be used not only to increase the participation rate but also to improve the meals provided in some instances.
