asked the Minister for Agriculture the plans he has to promote the EEC subsidised school milk scheme.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - School Milk Scheme.
2.
The promotion of the scheme is primarily a matter for the dairies in co-operation with the schools. I have already been in contact with the various interests involved, the dairies, the National Dairy Council and representatives of the teachers' unions in an effort to have the scheme more widely used.
When this scheme was first introduced there was a 47 per cent participation rate. I understand that has reduced to 25 per cent. The Department have a role to play in promoting this scheme.
A question, Deputy, please.
What the Minister said was that it has been handed over to other sectors. This is an EEC scheme and the Department must make a serious input into it. Milk is a nutritious food and we cannot afford to allow the children in our schools go without it.
I do not know how I could hand over something I never had. This is the primary concern of the schools and dairies. I am not satisfied with the manner in which the scheme has progressed. It is going backwards rather than forwards. This is due to many factors, such as lack of refrigeration and canteen facilities in schools. Up to now we had been concentrating on liquid milk and lack of these facilities hindered the operation of the scheme. I had discussions with a number of vested interests. I have asked the NDC for a formal meeting in the near future and I am also discussing it with the teachers' unions and the Minister for Education. It is a complex matter and a lot of work will have to be put into it. We need a lot of co-operation. There is no point in saying that the onus is on my Department. It is on many people in many areas. I would like to see more dairies becoming involved. I know that the dairies in Cork, Drogheda and Dundalk have become involved in the scheme and it has been a considerable success in those areas. We also need co-operation from the schools.
Has the Minister had discussions concerning the use of yogurt as a substitute?
Yes. This is one of the areas I have been exploring and will be discussing further with the NDC. Yogurts, milk shakes and cheese should be available but because of the lack of facilities in schools it is not possible to operate the type of scheme we would like.
Would the subsidy be available for them?
It is available for the milk content of those products. This is one of the items I wish to discuss with the NDC.
Does the Minister agree that there is great scope for this scheme? It would considerably benefit children's health and would take up the surplus of milk we have at present. It has been haphazardly administered and it is now time to set up a structure, even if it costs money——
If we had money we could do anything.
It would take very little money.
We could force-feed them with milk. The potential market for first and second level students, these are the two categories for which it is available, is about 6.4 million gallons. Consumption in 1982 was merely 2.6 million gallons. There is a major proportion of the potential not being utilised.
I am moving to the next question.
Would the Minister not consider having a look at available markets?
This question has been dealt with adequately.
I spoke about that in the context——
Will the Minister please answer Question No. 3?