The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,506 schools and organisations benefitting 230,000 children. The objective of the programme 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.
A budget of €65.1 million has been provided for the scheme in 2021.
As part of Budget 2019, funding was provided for a pilot scheme from September 2019, providing hot school meals in primary schools at a cost of €1m for 2019 and €2.5m in 2020. The pilot involved 37 schools benefitting 6,744 students for the 2019/2020 academic year and was aimed primarily at schools with no onsite cooking facilities.
Budget 2021 provided an additional €5.5m to extend the provision of hot school meals to an additional 35,000 primary school children, currently receiving the cold lunch option. Invitations for expressions of interest were issued to 705 primary schools (612 DEIS and 93 non-DEIS) in November 2020. A total of 281 (256 DEIS and 25 non-DEIS) expressions of interest were received in respect of 52,148 children.
The 35,000 places were allocated to each local authority area based on the number of children applied by local authority as a percentage of the total number. A minimum of one school for each Local Authority area was selected. Thereafter, a process of random selection was used for each area.
Budget 2022 is providing for the hot school meals to be extended from January 2022 to the 81 DEIS schools that submitted an expression of interest but were not selected in the extension to 35,000.
The number of students who benefitted from the school meals scheme in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021 is contained in Table 1 of the attached tabular statement.
For ease of reference, details of the schools and organisations benefitting from the school meals scheme in the 2021/2022 academic year are contained in Table 2.
I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
Table 1: The number of students benefitting from the school meals scheme in County Clare from 2016 to 2021
Academic Year
|
Number of Students
|
2016 / 2017
|
3,721
|
2017 /2018
|
4,079
|
2018 / 2019
|
4,304
|
2019 / 2020
|
4,269
|
2020 / 2021
|
3,942
|
2021 / 2022
|
4,140
|
Table 2: Schools and Organisations benefitting from the school meals scheme in the 2021/2022 academic year
Roll Number/Organisation Identifier
|
Name
|
Number Of Children
|
07315N
|
Holy Family Snr
|
305
|
17020A
|
Quilty NS
|
30
|
18526O
|
Ballycar NS
|
33
|
18753C
|
Saint Marys NS Lahinch
|
149
|
19233E
|
St Clares Special School
|
61
|
19559L
|
Chriost Ri
|
221
|
19999Q
|
Gaelscoil Ui Choimin
|
64
|
20041C
|
Convent Of Mercy National School
|
307
|
20086B
|
Ennis Educate Together NS
|
80
|
62000W
|
Mary Immaculate Secondary School
|
253
|
70840Q
|
Ennistymon Vocational School
|
222
|
91448K
|
Kilrush Community School
|
396
|
EO -000000068
|
Loughgraney Kids Corner Ltd
|
49
|
EO -000000070
|
East Clare Youthreach
|
13
|
EO -000000072
|
Obair Community Creche
|
50
|
EO -000000075
|
Kilrush Youthreach
|
26
|
EO -000000153
|
Kilmaley Community Childcare Creche
|
60
|
03928D
|
Mullach NS
|
55
|
14622N
|
Eidhneach NS
|
154
|
15221A
|
Annagh NS
|
99
|
16908S
|
Sixmilebridge NS
|
150
|
16930L
|
Scoil An Sraith SN
|
17
|
17957N
|
Holy Family Junior School
|
153
|
19414I
|
St Annes SS
|
90
|
20078C
|
Sn Realt Na Mara
|
73
|
20127M
|
Scoil Na Maighdine Mhuire
|
234
|
20245S
|
Ennistymon National School
|
59
|
20313J
|
Mol An Óige Community National School
|
112
|
70830N
|
Ennis Community College
|
487
|
70880F
|
St Joseph's Community College
|
138
|
Total Students
|
|
4,140
|