James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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58. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated amount her Department spent on the hot school meals programme in schools in Cork East in 2023; the total number of pupils who benefited in the same schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7858/24]

Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party)
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63. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when primary schools not included in the April 2024 hot meals scheme expansion will have an opportunity to formally express their interest in availing of the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7862/24]

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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65. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to provide an update on the roll-out of the hot school meals programme. [7916/24]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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75. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection for an update on the roll-out of hot school meals. [7884/24]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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76. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection for an update on the hot school meals programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7875/24]

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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80. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the up-to-date position on the hot school meals programme; if she will provide details of the scheme in County Kerry; her future plans for Kerry schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7852/24]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Could I have an update on the roll-out of the hot school meals programme in Cork East?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 58, 63, 65, 75, 76 and 80 together.

The objective of the school meals programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and additional educational achievement.

It is my overriding ambition that every child born today will be able to benefit from a hot school meal when they start school. Following the expansion of the programme in recent years, some 2,600 schools and organisations, covering 443,000 children, are now eligible for funding. This is a very positive outcome considering that the scheme involved just 30 schools at pilot stage when I started expanding it. I am committed to continuing to expand the hot school meals programme and building further on its significant extension in recent years. The roll-out of the programme to all remaining DEIS primary and special schools began in September 2023. However, I am committed to expanding the programme further. All remaining primary schools were contacted last year and requested to submit an expression-of-interest form if interested in commencing the provision of hot school meals. Expressions of interest were received from over 900 primary schools in respect of 150,000 children. These schools have now been invited to participate in the hot school meals programme from April 2024. If all these schools participate, it will result in a total of 1,600 schools and 267,000 children participating.

A number of schools have been in touch with me to say that they would like to exercise their option to participate. There will also be an opportunity for all other primary schools that have subsequently expressed an interest to do so formally later this year, which will increase the numbers further.

Last year, I published an independent evaluation of the school meals programme. It sets out the positive impact the programme is having on children's education and well-being. The key findings were as follows. There is an overwhelming consensus among all participants in the evaluation that the programme is effective, and there is strong support for its extension. Overall, parents were very supportive of it. Most parents suggested their child had an improved attitude towards food, highlighting the benefits of the programme in encouraging healthy eating. Students, in their responses, praised the taste and nutritional quality of the food. Students were over twice as likely to express positive, rather than negative, feelings towards the programme. Data from principals showed that their views on the nutritional values, quality and portion sizes of the meals provided were favourable. Most principals indicated the programme improved physical health, attendance and performance.

In March 2021, my Department published the hot school meals pilot project report, having carried out a pilot project across the country. This research was carried out to understand the experience of being involved in the pilot project from the perspective of parents, teachers, principals and food suppliers. The key findings were as follows. Overall, hot meals rated highly in terms of quality, choice, portion sizes, dietary requirements and nutritional value. The vast majority of the combined total of parents, teachers and principals rated each of these aspects positively, with around a third giving a rating of excellent. Some 66% of teachers said the pilot project had a positive impact on children's diet, while over half said it positively impacted behaviour, attentiveness and psychological well-being. Some 80% of parents, teachers, SNAs and principals rated the nutritional value of the food as excellent or good, and overall the hot meals rated highly in terms of quality, choice, portion sizes, dietary requirements and nutritional value, with over a third giving a rating of excellent for each category. Over a third of parents said the hot meals pilot project had a very positive impact on their children's attendance at school, physical health and psychological well-being, while the majority of parents said the pilot project had a positive impact in each of these three areas. Overall, suppliers felt the schools were very satisfied with the quality of the food provided. Most actively sought feedback on the meals from schools to help them improve and refine their menus, and suppliers felt that, by the time the schools closed, they had strong menus, with plenty of choice available.

The nutritional standards for school meals were developed by a working group led by those behind the health and well-being programme in the Department of Health, in consultation with Safefood and those behind the Healthy Eating and Active Living Programme in the Health Service Executive. Expenditure on unhealthy food items is deducted from the following year's funding allocation. In addition, the Department has undertaken an on-site inspection programme since 2012 to ensure the scheme rules are being adhered to.

Schools are responsible for choosing their own meals supplier on the open market in a fair and transparent manner in accordance with public procurement rules. Under tender documentation, and as stipulated by the schools procurement unit, the menu is to accommodate those with food intolerances and allergies, and diets from lactose-free and vegetarian to gluten-free, for example.

The Deputies have asked specifically about Cork and Kerry. In 2022–23, 28 schools in Cork were operating the hot school meals scheme, benefiting 6,988 pupils at a cost of €3,627,664. In 2023–2024, 36 schools have been operating the hot school meals scheme, benefiting 7,856 pupils at a cost of €4.5 million.

In County Kerry, this year to date a total of 34 schools have been operating the hot meals scheme, benefiting 3,854 pupils at a cost of €2.1 million. A tabular statement listing schools in counties Cork and Kerry currently in the hot school meals scheme in 2023–2024 has been made available to the Deputies. I trust that clarifies the matter.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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It certainly does.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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It will be very interesting to see the response in tabular form. Deputy O'Connor sends his apologies. He has an interest in the towns of Youghal, Killeagh and Castlemartyr and in east Cork in general.

I taught in Fermoy for 12 years in a school with DEIS status. I can safely say that a large proportion of the students who attended probably got their only healthy meal when they came to school. We ran a programme for many years in the school. Staff and management of the school would tell you the meals were the only nutritious ones that many of the children got. It was great to see the programme enhanced and progressed. I would love to see it in every school. The Minister mentioned that it will be possible for schools that missed out last year to apply this year. If there is any appeals process or way of getting in at this late stage for April's allocation, the Minister might inform us.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for that very comprehensive answer. I got most of it. I am sitting next to Deputy Ó Murchú, so I did not necessarily get all of it. In any event, we have regarded this area as a vital priority.

In any event, the programme is in an area that Sinn Féin sees as a priority. It is a good news story that it continues to be expanded. In the longer run, similar to Deputy O'Sullivan, I would like to see it expanded to all schools. In fairness, the Department and the Minister have done good work in this area, as did the previous Minister, but we are a long way behind comparable European countries. It is the norm in most European countries, particularly at post-primary level, for students to get a hot school meal. Not everything can be done in a single year, but is that the long-term ambition of the Minister? What is the trajectory? How will get to that stage? How many years does she foresee it will take to get to the stage where a good quality hot school meal? I have a child who benefits from the scheme and the quality is good. What is the timescale or trajectory to get it right across the board?

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for her response on the hot school meals programme. I compliment her on its expansion. Back in 2019, only 30 schools were involved in a small pilot. Since she took up the ministerial position in June 2020, more than 1,600 schools are availing of it so we are making real progress on this. I also welcome that last December more than 34 schools in County Mayo were added to the hot school meals programme, which is important. I will bring the Minister's attention to two schools in my local area, Castlebar Primary School and St. Joseph's National School, Derrywash. They are anxious to be included in the programme, like many others. Like other Deputies, I am anxious to know when the call for expressions of interest will reopen in 2024 because a lot of schools have contacted us. They know the benefits of this, certainly in school attendance and additional educational achievement. The budgetary allocation is testament that this Government wants to see all schools participating by 2030.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I call Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh, then Deputy Brendan Griffin and finally Deputy Paul McAuliffe.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Cut it off.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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I concur with previous speakers. I thank the Minister for her work on this.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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About the mouldy bread?

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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No, not about the mouldy bread, although I think that is how penicillin was discovered. There might be some upsides to it. Big pharma in Waterford might develop a new drug.

I thank the Minister for being so proactive in this. I was just doing the mathematics. I am not a mathematician, but break downing the €2.1 million servicing 34 schools in County Kerry where 3,854 children are benefiting, it works out at approximately €15 per week per child. That is a very small amount in the context of what the State spends but it is hugely significant. The results are amazing. If the Minister can find the finance anywhere, the expansion to other schools in Kerry and throughout the country would be money extremely well spent and well invested in the future.

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Never mind the mouldy bread, we often get mouldy answers here but the Deputy is correct that it was a good answer. That is because it is a good policy and it is welcome. I have seen it in practice in schools, as have many Deputies present. It is transformative.

I also like the universality element because disadvantaged children do not always go to DEIS schools. It is important to roll the programme out. It prevents stigma and so on. One suggestion has been brought to me. There are many children in DEIS schools who receive a meal in sixth class and when they go on to post-primary, they will not necessarily receive it, even in schools where there is a high level of disadvantage. Every time I ask the Minister to spend money, she reasonably tells me there are limits to what she can do. However, in the order of priority, I ask her to give some consideration to the argument that children in a DEIS primary school who go on to a DEIS secondary school, do not come from a different home just because they move on. It might be something to consider but I do not speak against the desire to have a universal approach.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank all the Deputies for their contributions. Not many measures are universally popular in this House, but the hot school meals is certainly one example. When I came into the Department, 30 schools were getting hot meals and when the expansion happens in April, more than 1,600 primary schools will receive hot meals. I am firm believer in the hot dinner in the middle of the day. You cannot beat it. I was in Artane last year and we saw the children getting their hot meals. They were sitting around the tables, chatting away. They had lasagne, shepherd's pie and chicken curry and it was a great leveller because everyone got the same. I am sure those who have made lunches many times feel the same. I would have loved to have had that when I had two young girls going to school because despite my best attempts, there was blue moulded bread by the end of the week, I assure Deputies, and soggy sandwiches and despite my best efforts in sneaking crisps in, although it was a healthy eating school, to try to entice them to eat it, I got them back: return to sender. I am delighted that there are six gentlemen here all asking about the hot school meals

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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And making the sandwiches as well.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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It was slightly different when I was doing it because mammy got the blame for the lunches and got the job as well.

Parents have enough to worry about. They are running out the door to work in the morning and when they know the child will get a good staple meal in the middle of the day, it is a huge weight off their minds. We are all busy people. It is great that we did the evaluation last year and teachers in the schools were overwhelmingly in favour of expanding the programme. For schools that did not get it in this round, I will open it again later in the year so schools can apply for the next round. There are approximately 3,000 primary schools altogether. We will have 1,600 in April if they all take up the offer and we will work our way through the rest as quickly as possible. It was planned to be rolled out up to 2030. I want to speed that up because it is a good scheme and it is important we do it for the children who are going to school today.