Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Question:762. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education the number of schools participating in the school meals programme that do not have a canteen. [31154/21]
View answerTuesday, 15 June 2021
Questions (762, 764, 765)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Question:764. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education the number of DEIS schools that do not have a canteen. [31156/21]
View answerDonnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Question:765. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education the number of DEIS schools that do not have cooking facilities. [31157/21]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 762, 764 and 765 together.
DEIS – Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools is the main policy initiative of my Department to address educational disadvantage at school level. In the 2020/21 academic year there are 887 schools in the DEIS Programme serving over 185,000 pupils - 689 Primary and 198 Post Primary.
My Department's total spend on DEIS in 2021 is over €150 million, which includes over €26 million for the School Completion Programme.
I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department does not hold details of schools with kitchens and/or canteens, or those without such facilities.
My Department has in place detailed design guidelines for primary and post-primary schools. These guidelines, which are available on my Department's web-site, currently provide for a standard range of servery and eating facilities in the design of new and refurbished schools. In Primary schools, a servery of 8.0m² in area is provided. At Post Primary level a kitchenette, 25m² in area, is provided off the General Purpose/Dining Area. These facilities are not intended to be full commercial type kitchens where food is prepared or cooked.
The School Meals Programme is under the remit of the Department of Social Protection. The Programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,506 schools and organisations benefitting 230,000 children.
The provision of hot school meals in schools is not dependent on cooking facilities being available in the school. The scheme is aimed primarily at schools with no onsite cooking facilities. Each school must identify a supplier who will supply (prepare and deliver) the hot meals in line with the relevant food safety regulations and in compliance with the Healthy Ireland ‘Nutrition Standards for Hot School Meals’.
Question No. 763 answered with Question No. 752.
Question No. 764 answered with Question No. 762.
Question No. 765 answered with Question No. 762.