Ms Amanda McCloat:

In terms of resources, like all facilities across the education sector, the standard varies between schools. Some schools have two or three kitchens, which would be a basic room kitted out so that there are ten work stations on average. There are generally seven to ten work stations in an individual kitchen. In an all-girls school, there are usually two functioning kitchens. Some of the mixed schools might also have two; it varies. Some male schools have kitchens. For example, I know that Summerhill College in Sligo has an excellent home economics programme and teaches home economics up to leaving certificate level. It is a very strong subject in that school. It has a fantastic new kitchen in its new build. Some of the more traditional boarding schools for boys do not have the facilities. We have found, particularly for some leaving certificate classes in the past, that those schools have joined up with an all-girls school in the area and have used the facilities there. Opportunities are available.

To kit out a school with ten stations would cost approximately €100,000. That is a ballpark figure; the cost depends on the services available and what it would take to kit out the actual room. There are approximately 700 schools, and we would have to find out how many schools actually have fully functioning kitchens. We would have to work particularly closely with the schools for boys to find out how we could strategically and incrementally kit those schools out with kitchens. According to the Department of Education and Skills criteria, kitchens are specified in the plans for all new builds of schools.