Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, on the hot school meals, it is provided during the school term. I know that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, has indicated that her Department remains committed to working with colleagues to support children and families as much as possible as part of the wider cross-Government response, including through the Cabinet subcommittee on child poverty and the food poverty working group. We are on that group, so this issue about providing meals during the school holiday period is being looked at. The biggest problem is about its implementation. You can deliver on the hot school meals programme during school term and school days but how do you co-ordinate it when children are not in school? That is something the Department is looking at as I understand it but while we have not received a detailed response as to whether it can be progressed at an early stage, it is certainly one of the considerations. Obviously, it would be a welcome development if we could implement it but it is the co-ordination of delivery that would be the challenge.

As for the other issue the Deputy raised, it obviously is something that should be looked at. It probably would come in under the Department of agriculture's remit rather than under our Department's remit.

It would also come in under the various Departments, for example, the Department of Justice in relation to prisons and the Department of Education in relation to schools. It is again a case of all Government Departments working on that issue. I will certainly take it up with other Departments, especially the Department of agriculture to see what its proposal is and how we can better deal with the sale of animals that are reared in the way the Deputy talked about, that they just fall into the normal food chain. There is no designated route for them once they leave the farm. That needs be looked at but it would have to come in under the Department of agriculture. I will certainly take it up with the Department and see what can be done on that. As I understand it, there are people purchasing animals that are reared in that way directly, advertising that it is the way the animal has been reared and selling the end product that way. There are some private companies doing that, as I understand it. However, it is not generally done. There is a process already but I am not sure if it available in the Deputy’s area.