Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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My apologies. I referred to “social welfare” a few times this morning when it should be “social protection”. That is one of the reasons the Department of Social Protection rolled out the hot school meals programme. Remember, when we started that programme, we initially focused on DEIS schools in particular. There has been that co-ordination from the health point of view but also from the point of view of the Department of Social Protection. The whole idea is that it is not just about rolling out meals; it is also about making sure there is nutrition and the meals are of benefit to the students. An important issue was raised about what happens outside the school year; that needs to be looked at. How can we help families in those areas during the holiday period? We need to look at that. How can we work together in the Departments of Health and Social Protection, as well as other Departments, on delivering in the period when schools are off? This shows that the programme to date is working. It is being reviewed on an ongoing basis as regards the schools being visited and the product provided.