Alan Kelly
Question:914. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing the school meals programme by 7.5% and 15%, respectively. [1802/23]
View answerWednesday, 18 January 2023
Questions (914)
Written answers
The School Meals Programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,600 schools and organisations benefitting 260,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking 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 €94.4 million has been provided for the scheme in 2023. The estimated cost of increasing the school meals programme by 7.5% and 15% is €7.08m and €14.16m respectively.
I am committed to continuing to expand the school meals programme and building further on the significant extension of the programme in recent years. In this regard, I commissioned the evaluation of the school meals programme to review all elements of the programme. The evaluation will also help to inform future decisions around this important programme.
I trust this clarifies the matter.