Joe Sherlock
Question:12 Mr. Sherlock asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her proposals to extend the school meals programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8476/03]
Written Answers - School Meals Programme.
The school meals programme makes an important contribution to ensuring that school children receive better nutrition and contributes to improved school attendance and quality of learning.
The current programme provides funding for the urban school meals scheme, which operates in conjunction with certain local authorities, as well as for a number of locally operated school meals projects that are in place 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 more than 60,000 pupils, benefited from the urban scheme while 105 schools and voluntary organisations received funding which benefited more than 11,000 children under other school meals projects.
The report of an interdepartmental working group which was set up in 1999 to review the scheme group has been completed and it recommends a number of changes which will focus the scheme on areas of greatest disadvantage. This will include targeting secondary schools with the highest concentration of pupils at risk of early school leaving and their primary feeder schools.
The working group felt that, in view of the scale of implementation, new arrangements should be introduced on a phased basis. They recommended that, initially, the most disadvantaged schools should be targeted. Work is under way to identify these schools. It is also proposed to identify children at risk who are not in specific target schools as well as children with special needs.
I announced recently an increase of €2 million in funding for free school meals projects which will enable me to expand the current programme. Funding is currently being provided for new school meals projects as they come on stream.