The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,600 schools and organisations which benefits almost 207,000 children through two schemes. The first is the statutory urban school meals scheme, operated by local authorities and part-financed by the Department. The second is the school meals local projects scheme through which funding is provided directly to participating schools and local and voluntary community groups who run their own school meals projects. There are currently some 2,600 food clubs in operation under the scheme of which approximately 650 are breakfast clubs. Details of the breakfast clubs and associated costs for each of the last five years are being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.
The school meals programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement by children especially those from the most disadvantaged background. Funding the provision of food services in schools guarantees on-going positive returns on a public investment in the health and educational performance of future generations. There is a particular focus on the provision of breakfast clubs within the programme which provide very positive outcomes for vulnerable children in terms of their school attendance, punctuality and energy levels.
Priority for funding under the scheme is given to DEIS schools for identified disadvantaged pupils and is not restricted to those in junior classes. In recognition of the benefits that the scheme provides and despite severe pressure on the social protection budget, the Government allocated an additional €2 million for the school meals programme in 2015, providing a total allocation of €39 million. It should be noted that the provision for the scheme was also increased by €2 million as part of Budget 2013 which was used to extend the scheme to some 100 additional DEIS and special schools benefitting over 9,800 additional children.
Facilities required for the provision of a breakfast club are primarily determined by the type of service provided by an individual school. The type of service provided is a matter for each individual school.
