Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have asked two parliamentary questions on the issue, on 25 June and 2 July 2014, respectively. I received answers at the time which were unsatisfactory, which is why I have sought to raise the matter as a Topical Issue. The school involved is Scoil Bhríde, Portlaoise, Roll No. 19747M. It is the largest primary school in County Laois, with 757 pupils at the time I spoke to the principal, Ms Muriel Wall-Coughlan, about the matter during the course of the summer. It is a disadvantaged school in the DEIS 1 category. It received funding under the school meals scheme of €15,000 for its 757 pupils, which represented an average payment per pupil of €19.01. Total payments under the scheme this year amount to €37 million and I welcome the additional €2 million which will be provided next year. I spotted this on budget day. The €37 million is divided among approximately 1,600 schools, giving an average payment of €23,000 per school. The fund benefits approximately 205,000 children, with an average payment of €180.49 per child, which is nine times higher than the payment per pupil in Scoil Bhríde in Portlaoise. That is why I am raising the issue today.

An additional €2 million was allocated to the scheme in 2013 to provide for an additional 100 new schools which were being brought into the scheme. It was decided that each school would receive an average payment of €20,000 each. This benefited 9,700 students and pupils, with an average payment of €206 per pupil, which is ten times higher than the payment per pupil in Scoil Bhríde.

2 o’clock

While the funding provided for school meals is welcome, certain schools, including Scoil Bhríde, receive a low level of funding under the school meals programme because they entered the scheme earlier than other schools. Schools that enter the scheme now receive payments per pupil that are up to ten times higher than those paid to schools already in the system. This inequity must be addressed. Scoil Bhríde has applied to have its funding increased from €15,000 to €194,000 on the basis that it is a DEIS 1 school. The average payment for a DEIS 1 school is €150,000, yet Scoil Bhríde receives one tenth of the average. The position is extremely inequitable.

Last July I tabled a parliamentary question seeking a breakdown of payments per pupil under the school meals programme across the school system. I asked how many schools were receiving payments of between €10 and €20 per pupil, between €30 and €40 per pupil and so forth. In his reply the Minister indicated that statistics for average payments per pupil under the school meals programme were not maintained by the Department. Schools receive a form of block grant based on old enrolment figures and must make do with the amount they receive, even if the number of pupils in the school has doubled since the original allocation was made.

I ask that Scoil Bhríde's application for additional funding be given favourable treatment. Furthermore, the inequity in the system, whereby schools that have been in the programme for a long time receive low levels of funding in comparison with new entrants, must be addressed. I hope the Minister of State will take my points on board.

See this speech in context