Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to return to the Barnardos report that was raised earlier. It found that one in five parents struggle to put food on the table for their families. It found that one in three is either not eating or eating less to ensure their children have food. I am sure the Taoiseach will agree that this is an appalling situation and evidence of the poverty that is in our society and the pressure families are under in a cost-of-living crisis. Urgent help is needed.

A suggestion has been made by Barnardos that the school meals programme be extended outside of term time and that it be extended to secondary schools. Will the Taoiseach do these two things urgently? In the case of the extension to outside of term time, obviously, we are heading into the summer holidays, which is a huge pressure point for families who struggle to feed their children.

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