Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 June 2020
629. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the extension of the operation and funding for the school meals scheme will be considered beyond the end of June 2020 to assist families on low incomes particularly during the Covid-19 emergency period. [9674/20]
View answer667. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views on the fact that schools may now be running out of budget for school meals for the final month of the primary school year; and if she will consider examining the extension of budgets for schools that are affected in this manner to ensure that no child loses out on nutrition that their families might also rely upon. [10178/20]
View answer668. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider taking action to ensure that children receive adequate nutrition during the summer months; and if she will consider a holiday hunger scheme. [10179/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 629, 667 and 668 together.
The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,580 schools and organisations benefitting 250,000 children. The objective of the scheme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement and coincides with the school year.
Following the announcement of the closure of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic, by the Taoiseach on 12th March 2020, schools and organisations participating in the school meals programme expressed concerns about the impact of school closures on pupils who avail of school meals, and that the unavailability of school meals impacts in particular on the most disadvantaged in our society.
My Department confirmed that funding to schools would continue to enable schools provide food until the end of the current school year - the end of May for post-primary schools and the end of June for primary schools, in line with the parameters of the school meals scheme.
Any Primary School whose funding does not cover the provision of meals to the end of June should contact the school meals section at school.meals@welfare.ie and funding will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
Any proposals to consider a new scheme or extend funding for food provision beyond these dates would need to be considered in the overall budgetary context. Furthermore, it is important to take account of the logistical issues involved in delivering the programme during the school holidays.
I trust that this clarifies the position.
