Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

There is a considerable amount of international evidence about the importance of hot nutritious meals for pupils in school. Pupils who receive such meals are healthier, less likely to be tired in class and more likely to be attentive. The younger they get access to those meals, the better. That is why I welcome the hot school meal programme. However, the programme is drastically underfunded given that almost 100 schools that applied have been unable to access it. One particularly unjust example of a school that has missed out is Knockmore Junior School in Killinarden, a DEIS - Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools - school with 149 young pupils. The situation is particularly unjust because many of the other schools in the area have access to hot school meals, which is great, but means that the brothers and sisters of some Knockmore pupils will be getting the hot school meals they need while their younger brothers and sisters will not be getting that access. I ask the Taoiseach to intervene with the Minister and the Department to ensure those children are able to access the hot school meals they need and that all the schools that need access to this programme are able to get it.

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