Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 October 2023
364. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if the hot school meals programme can be extended to a school in Tipperary town (details supplied), considering the recent announcement as part of budget 2024, and the fact that this is the only school in the town at either primary or secondary level that currently does not have access to the programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44956/23]
View answerThe School Meals Programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,700 schools and organisations benefitting 300,000 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.
Budget 2023 provided €94.4 million for the programme. In February, the Government approved an additional €14.5m to allow access to the Hot School Meals scheme for all remaining DEIS schools from September 2023. Budget 2024 has increased the funding by an extra €42.5m.
Entry to the School Meals Scheme has been confined to DEIS schools in addition to schools identified by the Department of Education as having levels of concentrated disadvantage meaning that their students would benefit from access to the School Meals Programme. The school in question is a non DEIS school with no access to school meals programme funding.
Funding under the school meals programme can be provided for breakfast, snack, cold lunch, dinner, hot school meals and afterschool clubs and is based on a maximum rate per child per day, depending on the type of meal being provided. The Hot School Meals was introduced in 2019 and has been concentrated on primary schools.
Since my appointment as Minister for Social Protection, I have increased the number of schools with access to the Hot School Meal option from 37 to 1,100. I am committed to continuing to expand the School Meals Programme and building further on the significant extension of the programme that has taken place in recent years. In this regard, the roll out of the Hot School Meals to all remaining DEIS primary and Special schools began in September 2023, benefiting more than 60,000 children.
As part of significant plans to extend the Hot School Meals programme, all remaining primary schools were contacted and requested to submit an expression of interest form if their school is interested in commencing the provision of hot school meals. Expressions of interest forms were received from over 900 non-DEIS schools in respect of 150,000 children.
Budget 2024 provides for the extension of the Hot School Meals Programme to these 900 schools in 2024.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
