Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to raise this important issue. I also welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, who is taking it on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton.

The motion is straightforward and concerns the need for the Minister for Social Protection to make a statement on the funding of the school meals project at Scoil Bhríde, Knockmay, Portlaoise, County Laois. People might assume that because it is a school meals programme, it is within the remit of the Department of Education and Skills, but it is actually a social protection payment, which is why we are dealing with the Department of Social Protection. Some people may not understand why that is the case, but it is. I do not mind where the funding comes from as long as it goes to the pupils in the school.

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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No one does.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy for providing details on Scoil Bhríde. To provide some background, the school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food services for some 1,600 schools and organisations. Almost 207,000 children benefit through two schemes, the first of which is the statutory urban school meals scheme operated by local authorities and part-financed by the Department. The second, the scheme to which the Deputy refers, is the school meals local projects scheme through which funding is provided directly for participating schools and local and voluntary community groups which run their own school meal projects.

The school meals programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra-educational achievement by children, especially those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. As the Deputy will agree, breakfast clubs encourage children to arrive at school on time. I am firmly of the view that funding the provision of food services in schools guarantees ongoing positive returns on a public investment in the health and educational performance of future generations.

In recognition of the benefits the scheme provides and despite severe pressure on the social protection budget, the Government allocated an additional €2 million for the school meals programme in 2013, providing a total allocation of €37 million. This amount was increased in budget 2015 by a further €2 million, bringing the total to €39 million for 2015. This additional funding will be used to increase payments to existing schools which are part of the Department of Education and Skill's initiative for disadvantaged schools, Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, or DEIS as it is also known. DEIS is the Department's main policy instrument to address educational disadvantage. There will be a particular focus on the provision of breakfast clubs which provide positive outcomes for vulnerable children in terms of their school attendance, punctuality and energy levels.

The school referred to by the Deputy, Scoil Bhríde, has been in receipt of funding under the scheme since 2007 and applied for a significant increase in both pupil numbers availing of the scheme and funding for the current academic year. An increase in the level of payments to this school will be considered as part of the overall allocation of the additional €2 million that will be available in 2015.

I was not aware of some of the facts outlined by the Deputy who may wish to meet me next week to discuss them in detail. I note the support provided for Scoil Bhríde originally was for approximately 70 children, whereas enrolments at the school stand at 797. An additional €2 million has been provided for the school meals programme in 2015. The Deputy has indicated that Scoil Bhríde is being discriminated against by virtue of entering the scheme earlier than other schools. I invite him to discuss with me any structural problem that arises with the scheme.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to meet the Minister of State to discuss this matter. I will provide him with the information I have received at that point.

The purpose of the school meals scheme is to help children to get to school. Many but by no means all of the children in Knockmay are from low income families and do not receive a breakfast. In some homes the children are not provided with dinner or tea either. We must look after the younger generation because children cannot learn if they are hungry. One must fill their tummies before one tries to fill their brains.

Scoil Bhríde receives funding to provide lunch for two children in each class of 30 pupils. This means that the principal or someone acting on the principal's behalf must choose the two children in each class who will benefit from the scheme. It is awful that we have been reduced to this. There are historical reasons for the discrepancy in funding.

The reason I have so much information on this issue is that, in addition to submitting parliamentary questions, I sent a detailed letter outlining the position to the Secretary General of the Department of Social Protection in August. I received a detailed reply, including some statistics, from an official in the Department's Sligo office. I was grateful to receive all of the information available in the Department on the issue, notwithstanding the fact that it does maintain information on funding broken down per pupil. I am fortunate to have this information and I am sure the Minister of State would be able to obtain it. I will provide him with copies of the documentation I have received.

The essential point is that there is a structural flaw in the system. The official indicated that if the funding provided for Scoil Bhríde were to be increased to the average figure, other schools in receipt of funding in excess of it could have their allocations cut. It would be difficult to give that news to the schools in question. Fairness and equity are necessary, however, and schools should receive funding close to the average, not ten times higher than the funding provided for other schools. Scoil Bhríde receives one tenth of the average payment and I am sure there are schools that receive payments far in excess of it possibly by ten times.

It should be noted that Scoil Bhríde is a DEIS 1 school and that many of the pupils come from families on low incomes. Let us try to feed these children in order that they can be educated a little better. I look forward to meeting the Minister of State next week to discuss the issue.

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Department of Social Protection always operates in an open and transparent manner and furnishes Deputies with the information they request. It is heartening that the Deputy has confirmed this in respect of the information provided for him by the Department.

The Government has been able to protect the funding provided for the school meals programme. In 2009 funding for the scheme stood at €35 million. This figure was increased to €37 million in 2007 and €39 million in 2015. As the Deputy indicated, it is important that this additional funding be distributed in an open and transparent manner. He will be aware from his time on the Government side of the House that while it is great to give something, it is much harder to take it away. The envelope of funding for 2015 is €39 million. I would like it to be increased and believe it will increase as the economy grows. I will discuss the issue with the Deputy. My officials and I will ensure the additional funding will be distributed in a fair and transparent manner. I will be more than happy to arrange a meeting with the Deputy to take a closer look at the matter.