Dáil debates
Tuesday, 11 June 2024
Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions
School Meals Programme
11:15 am
Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
11. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will expand the free school meals programme to all schools from September 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25410/24]
Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
The free hot school meals programme is money extremely well spent in terms of education and tackling hunger in young people for families. Why do we not roll it out to all schools, primary and secondary, in September 2024?
Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. In recent years, entry to the school meals programme had been confined to DEIS schools in addition to schools identified by the Department of Education as having levels of concentrated disadvantage that would benefit from access to the programme.
In budget 2022, I provided funding for all DEIS schools currently in the programme. In July 2022, I announced that I was extending hot school meals to the new DEIS schools announced by the Department of Education. This provided access to hot school meals to a further 282 primary schools and a cold lunch to 38 secondary schools benefitting 61,405 children.
In 2023, the Government approved an additional €14.5 million to allow access to the hot school meals scheme for all remaining DEIS schools from September 2023 bringing the total budget to €108.9 million.
All remaining primary schools were contacted last year and requested to submit an expression of interest form if their school was interested in commencing the provision of hot school meals. Expressions of interests were received from more than 900 primary schools in respect of 150,000 children who were then invited to participate in the programme from 8 April 2024, and all of the schools that submitted completed applications have been awarded funding.
My Department has now contacted the remaining primary schools that have not yet joined the hot school meals scheme asking them to submit expressions of interest if their school is interested in commencing the provision of hot school meals, subject to available approved budgetary funding. I assure the Deputy that I am committed to continuing to expand the school meals programme and to building further on the significant extension of the programme that has taken place in recent years.
Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
The question is in the context of the previous discussion we had about enforced deprivation among children. Other statistics are available. The Barnardos figures are striking. They are so striking that the former Taoiseach simply did not believe them at the time and he thought they were probably exaggerated. They stated that in November 2023 one in four parents did not have enough food to feed their children at some point in the previous year, which was an increase from one in five parents in 2022, again giving the lie to the idea that things are improving when, certainly for children, they are not.
Is the Minister saying that if any primary school authorities come back to her and say they are in a position to do it and they want to do it, that they could be facilitated from September 2024? Could she also give me an update on post-primary schools?
Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
We wrote a second time to the approximately 1,000 schools that did not respond to us in the first call. Some 600 have come back and we will work with them.
We will continue to approach the remaining schools.
Obviously, I will need to secure more money in the budget this year to complete the roll-out of the programme. My plan is that all primary school children will have access to a hot lunch during the course of 2025. The programme is very important and is making such a difference to the children. Teachers think it is great. I visit lots of schools. Invariably, when I ask the children to put up their hand if they like the hot school meals, every hand is raised. The programme has made a difference. It is so important that young children, in particular, get a staple meal in the middle of the day. The schools I mentioned earlier, including the 600 that have come back to us, will come on stream in September. As I said, I will need to get money in the budget to finish the roll-out. We are nearly there.
11:25 am
Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
Will the Minister comment on the situation of post-primary schools? The same arguments apply in respect of secondary students, including the points about pupil well-being in school, engagement with food, prevention of hunger, alertness in education and so on. We have the capacity to address the inequalities that exist and are reflected in our schools. We should do so at post-primary as well as primary level.
Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
Currently, DEIS secondary schools have access to the school meals programme. I wanted to start with primary schools. As soon as that roll-out is finished, I hope the Minister for Social Protection in the next Government, whoever that may be, will start to roll out the provision to all secondary schools as well. It is the right thing to do. I have been absolutely committed to the school meals programme since I came into the Department. I am delighted the roll-out will soon be finished in primary schools. I always felt that teenagers are probably slightly better able to fend for themselves than the younger children in primary school. That is why I wanted to start with primary schools. I hope the provision will eventually move its way on to secondary schools that are not in the DEIS scheme.