Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that the Minister secured the extra funding. From talking to different principals, especially in the two schools I mentioned, Scoil Mhuire gan Smál in Carlow and Scoil Mhuire Lourdes in Tullow, I am aware that our towns and villages are changing. The review process needs to be furnished urgently so that children do not fall through the cracks in their academic year, especially now, as the Minister knows, when we have public health guidelines and everybody is trying to social distance and mind themselves.

The Oireachtas children's committee discussed child poverty today. One of the issues that came out of that was the school meals programme and how important it is to schools and to the children that benefit from it. I know this is in the remit of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, but I believe she and the Minister should work together on it. We need to look at school meals programmes in schools, especially for schools that keep applying for DEIS status and just have not got it. I welcome the review that is going on. I ask the Minister that Scoil Mhuire gan Smál in Carlow and Scoil Mhuire Lourdes in Tullow get DEIS status.

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