Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ellis for raising this timely and important issue in regard to the distribution of surplus food. The Department has been involved for some years in administering the programme of food aid for deprived persons. The programme of food aid for deprived persons was first introduced in 1987 as a reaction to conditions faced by deprived persons during a particularly harsh winter. It was designed to release products that were available in European Community intervention stocks to charitable organisations for free distribution to people in need. Its primary objective was considered to be a social measure but it also had the effect of reducing the intervention storage costs for those products that are distributed which are borne by the EU.

For some years, butter, cheese and rice have been distributed to various charities by my Department. This year, my Department will be distributing cheese, butter and rice to the value of €2.6 million to 563 registered charities. Among those in receipt of product is the Dublin-based food bank operated by Crosscare. A number of the charities utilise the product distributed to provide meals for the most deprived in society.

In Ireland the programme is managed at operational level by hundreds of charitable organisations, mainly staffed by volunteers. The charities currently participate in the reception and distribution of the foodstuffs to deprived persons. These organisations play a key role in the implementation of the programme. However, the majority of the charitable organisations using the scheme in Ireland do not have the capacity to store large quantities of product and, therefore, the Department, as the intervention agency, arranges for the storing of the foodstuffs in various stores located throughout the country. The charities withdraw quantities of product from the stores as required and approved by the Department. The deprived programme operates as a stand-alone scheme and is not run in tandem with a national scheme.

This will be the last year that the current programme will operate under the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine in line with the expiry of the EU regulation. From 2014, the European Commission has proposed the introduction of a new fund to support the provision of food and consumer products for people who are the most deprived. The regulations for this fund have been agreed by the European Parliament and the Council and will be voted on in February 2014. The Department of Social Protection has begun preparatory work for the introduction of the new fund, which will have a budget of up to €3.5 million when co-funding by the Exchequer is taken into account.

Any proposals for the establishment of a national food bank will come in the first instance from the charitable sector in conjunction with food producers and retailers. The Minister for Social Protection and myself would welcome any ideas the Deputy might have on such a proposal.

See this speech in context