Vol. 1053 No. 1
11. Deputy Ciarán Cannon asked the Minister for Social Protection when the extension of child benefit to 18-year-olds in full-time education will take effect; the number of students who will benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18169/24]
48. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of plans to extend child benefit for those continuing in secondary education but who have turned 18 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18135/24]
Ireland has an exceptional track record in educational attainment, both in the length of time our young people stay in education and the academic standards they achieve during that time. In recent months, the Minister has proposed to extend child benefit to 18-year-olds in full-time education. When does she think those changes will come into effect? How many students does she think will benefit?
I thank the Deputy for raising this. I propose to take questions Nos. 11 and 48 together.
In budget 2024, the Govemment decided to extend the payment of child benefit to 18-year-olds who are in full-time education or have a disability. This was one of my key priorities in the budget. With many children now starting primary school at age five, together with the increase in pupils doing transition year, there has been an increase in the number of 18-year-olds still in secondary education. The extension of child benefit to 18-year-olds in full-time education is a long-term change for the better and will support families across Ireland into the future.
There is a significant change to the child benefit scheme. It requires technical and operational changes before implementation. We had originally provided that the change would take effect from September this year. However, I am very pleased that we are now able to bring in this important change from an earlier date. The required legislation was enacted last month. As a result, the measure will be brought in from May.
My Department has been in contact with all recipients of child benefit to advise of the next steps. In the case of a child who has already turned 18 and who is still in full-time education, child benefit will be payable again from May 2024 up to their 19th birthday, or until they leave full-time education, whichever is sooner. Where the child has a disability, there is no requirement to be in full-time education and the payment can continue until their 19th birthday.
In the region of 60,000 children are expected to benefit from this measure annually. The additional estimated cost of bringing forward the commencement date to May is €21.6 million. This brings the total estimated cost of this measure to €43.2 million in 2024.
Child benefit is one of the few tools at my disposal that I can use to support working families. As part of recent budgets, I have prioritised double payments and lump-sum payments on child benefit. I know these extra payments have been very important for families, particularly in the run-up to Christmas.
I was talking to a woman the other day who told me she uses the child benefit payment to pay for grinds for her daughter for the leaving certificate. She was absolutely delighted with the change, and that we will be continuing to make that payment while they are in full-time education up to the age of 19. We know things have changed now. Children are starting school a little older, which is probably no harm either in my book, as there is a lot going on in preschool, which is preparation for them to go to primary school. They are starting later, and then they have the transition year. That means that a lot of young people are in full-time secondary education at the age of 18. That is why I was very keen to make this change to allow parents to receive child benefit until their children reach the age of 19. I am glad to have been in a position to bring it forward to 1 May.
I thank the Minister. I am seeking one further point of clarification. Do the parents of children who have reached the age of 18 and are still in full-time education have to go through any verification process, or is this just an automated payment and their current child benefit payment will extend into that additional year?
It was originally planned to take effect next September so I asked my officials to expedite the work on this. Some work needs to be done when we change payments. The IT systems have to be updated. We got the legislation passed last month, the systems are ready to go, and it will take effect from May.
I would say to the parents whose children just turned 18 in February, for example, to contact my Department and reapply. It is just a matter of confirming they are in full-time education and putting in the application. They will continue to get the payment until they reach the age of 19. That is something people should be aware of. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I encourage parents to make sure they get the application in. It is about reapplying. That is certainly worth their while.
As there is still no one here for Priority Questions, I will go to Deputy Cannon's next question and then I will go to Deputy Murnane O'Connor. If those who tabled Priority Questions arrive, I will go back and take those questions.
12. Deputy Ciarán Cannon asked the Minister for Social Protection when people with epilepsy can apply for the free travel pass; if she will outline the process for applying; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18168/24]
The Irish Epilepsy Association has consistently advocated for the provision of the free travel pass to people with epilepsy who have been deemed ineligible to drive. The Minister has responded very generously to that request and now proposes to make the free travel pass available to people with epilepsy. Will she outline the details of the scheme and particularly how the application process will work?
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. The free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. There are over 1 million customers with direct eligibility. The estimated expenditure on free travel for 2024 is €103.5 million.
As part of budget 2024, I was particularly pleased to extend access to free travel to people who are medically certified as unfit to drive, including those with epilepsy. From July 2024, the measure will extend access to the free travel scheme to people who have never been medically fit to drive due to a disability and to drivers who have a licence and have been deemed medically unfit to drive for a period of one year or longer. There will be no requirement to satisfy a means test or that the person be in receipt of a social protection payment to qualify for the medical free travel pass.
My officials are currently working to implement the new scheme extension, including the drafting of relevant qualifying criteria, development of administrative and IT systems and the development of an application process. Applications will open in May. Application forms will be available to download from the Gov.ie website, from any Intreo centre or by contacting the free travel section by telephone at 0818 200 400 or by email freetravelqueries@welfare.ie. Applications will then be processed and customers will be notified of the decision. I encourage those wishing to avail of this extension to the free travel scheme to apply early.
My Department will undertake an information campaign to ensure eligible customers are aware of the reforms and also provide details of the application process. I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
9. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department has measured the progress and success of the school meals programme in the context of diet, attendance and educational attainment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18078/24]
15. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on the roll-out of the hot school meals programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17836/24]
Has the Department measured the progress and success of the schools meal programme in the context of diet, attendance and educational means?
I propose to take questions Nos 9 and 15 together.
The objective of the school meals programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. Following the expansion of the programme in recent years, some 2,600 schools and organisations, covering 443,000 children are now eligible for funding.
I recently announced that the hot school meals programme has been expanded to include an additional 900 primary schools and 150,000 children. This means that over 2,000 primary schools are able to benefit from hot school meals. The programme started in 2019 with a small pilot of 30 schools.
The nutritional standards for school meals were developed by a working group led by the Department of Health, in consultation with Safefood and the healthy eating and active living programme in the Health Service Executive.
In March 2023, I published an independent evaluation of the school meals programme which sets out the positive impact the programme is having in terms of children’s education and well-being. The key finding was an overwhelming consensus among all participants in the evaluation that the programme is effective. Most parents suggested that their child had an improved attitude towards food, highlighting the benefits of the programme in encouraging healthy eating. Students were asked how they felt about the programme and their responses were overall positive. They praised the taste and nutritional quality of the food. Data from principals showed that their views of the nutritional values, the quality, and the portion size of the meals provided were favourable. Changing children’s attitudes towards healthier eating was also a common theme across principals’ responses. Most principals indicated that the programme improved physical health, attendance and performance. These findings are consistent with the pilot project report, published by my Department in March 2021.
Last week, I announced a new round of expressions of interest. My Department is in the process of contacting any primary schools that are not yet part of this important scheme to invite them to express an interest. I would encourage any primary schools that have yet to participate to now come on board. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Following the expansion of the scheme in recent years, some 2,600 schools and organisations covering 443,000 are now eligible for funding under the school meals programme. Under the hot school meals programme, 900 primary schools were added this year means. This means that 150,000 more children will get hot school meals. I reiterate that from this month, over 2,000 primary schools will benefit from hot school meals and that the programme began in 2019 with a small pilot of just 30 schools.
I am absolutely committed to the provision of hot schools meals. It is a wonderful programme. I am delighted that this Government has been able to expand it because it does make a difference to the children, their educational attainment and to their attendance at school. When I visited some of the schools, teachers told me that some children come to school because they are getting hot dinners. That means the programme is making a difference to their lives.
I thank the Minister. I strongly agree with her about the hot school meals programme. It is absolutely excellent not only for DEIS schools but for every school included in the programme. The Minister announced hot meals for an additional 900 primary schools. Ten of those schools are in Carlow. These are schools that I had been working with. They are rural schools. For all the schools that get the programme, they are a game-changer. I was delighted to hear the Minister’s facts and figures about how it has benefited children, how children are going to school and how the programme makes a difference. There is a long-term effect for communities.
It is also helping many caterers to create jobs. The standard is absolutely excellent. It has a knock-on effect for communities particularly in rural areas. I really welcome this. I wanted the facts and figures. My only question is whether the Minister will consider introducing breakfasts as well.
Not too many measures are universally popular but I think that everybody absolutely supports the hot school meals programme. I have always been a firm believer that it is not possible to beat a hot meal in the middle of the day. I visited St. Thomas's Junior National School in Lucan with the Taoiseach last week. We saw the children getting their hot meals. They were all sitting down around the table. They were having their chats and eating whatever they had chosen from the menu the week before. They had a choice between chicken curry, lasagna and shepherd's pie. It is a great leveller because everybody gets the same choice of food, which is important. I strongly insisted on not allowing some to be picked while others were not. That is not right because all children are equal in my eyes; so everybody gets it. When we were packing lunches - I am sure it was the same for Deputy Murnane O'Connor - it would have been very handy if our children had had hot school meals.
This is a good news story for children. Some families might not have as much as others. At least they know their children are going in every day and getting a hot meal, which is a game-changer. All schools, but particularly primary schools, should provide these meals. Schools can now reapply. We need to contact all the schools in order that they know about this. The programme needs to be extended to all schools. As I said, it is excellent. Many parents are ringing me to say it is a great success. I thank the Minister, the Government and everyone who has worked on and who has shown commitment to this programme. It is really important that we look after our children's futures, and that is what we are doing.
The Minister was very good to ensure that all children in Ennis Community School received hot school meals for the entire year. It has worked really well. It is the amalgamation of three schools, one of which is DEIS. I am raising it to highlight it again with the Minister this morning so that she might consider extending that for a further year as it was a huge success. All the children there like to be the same as each other as we all know.
I congratulate the Minister on advancing the school meals programme. I ask the Minister about the efforts that continue to be made to ensure a balanced and nutritious diet is maintained in what are children's formative years.
I say to Deputy Murnane O'Connor that the hot school meals programme is running in 31 schools in Carlow, covering 5,639 children.
In response to Deputy Wynne, Ennis Community School was brought to my attention. I was obviously very conscious the amalgamation, involving some DEIS and some non-DEIS schools - that was the secondary school. We were able to provide that support and solution at the time. We have to continue to work with them and I am happy to do what we can. It is important that children are treated equally.
We had planned to have the programme rolled out to all primary schools by 2030 but I am glad to say that it has gone much quicker than was initially anticipated and I am very keen to drive on. We hope that by the end of 2025 all children in primary schools will be getting a hot school meal. I urge those schools that have not been in touch to please get in touch. I am sure the children will do the talking because somebody will be getting a hot school meal in one school and somebody else will not be getting it in another. That is the way the news gets out. As I said, I am totally supportive of it.
I asked about the dietary balance.
Regarding dietary standards, healthy eating guidelines are set out for the suppliers. They must meet certain standards and I would expect them to do that. There are intermittent inspections by my Department in different schools. It is up to the to the principal and teachers to make sure the appropriate food is coming in because it is being paid for.
