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DEIS Scheme

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 October 2020

Tuesday, 13 October 2020

Questions (312)

Paul Murphy

Question:

312. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount spent on buying individual portions of bottled water as part of the school lunch programme in DEIS schools; the amount spent per each school involved in the programme; and the average according to the expenditure per student covered in the programme, in tabular form. [30016/20]

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Written answers

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 a 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.

The rate of payment per meal, per child, per day is contained in the attached table.

The maximum rate for the drink component of a lunch or a dinner is 30c whether for individual bottles, or single servings from bulk dispensers; drinks can be water, milk or unsweetened juices. Schools that have drinking water available to students can opt to provide an additional piece of food normally a piece of fruit, or opt for a reduced rate per meal of €1.10 for lunch and €1.60 for dinner.

Figures are not collated on the number of schools that provide water as the drink and if they use the individual portion water bottles.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Table 1: Max rates for school meals per child per day

Meal

Max Rate of Payment (per child per day)

Minimum number of food items

Examples of Food to be Provided

Breakfast/Snack

€0.60

2 items

1 serving of wholemeal/wholegrain cereal or bread PLUS 1 serving of fruit OR 1 serving of milk, yogurt or cheese

Lunch

€1.40

1 substantial item + 1 small item + a drink

Wholemeal/wholegrain sandwich or roll containing 1 serving meat, poultry, egg or cheese and 1 serving salad PLUS 1 serving fruit PLUS a drink (e.g. water, milk, unsweetened juice)

Dinner

€1.90

Hot meal + drink

1 serving meat, poultry, egg, beans PLUS 1 serving potatoes, pasta or rice PLUS 2 servings vegetables/fruit PLUS a drink (milk, water, unsweetened juice)

Hot Meal

€2.90

Hot Meal

1 serving meat, poultry, egg, beans PLUS 1 serving potatoes, pasta or rice PLUS 2 servings vegetables/fruit

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