Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the response from the Minister of State. I am particularly glad he points out that this evaluation should be finished by the end of the year and that the cost factor in terms of the meals will be looked at because that is what is needed now. Again, I complement him on the work he does in that area. The funding is even more significant than I thought which is great news. As I have said, I spoke to one supplier last night and one or two others last week, and a few schools had contacted me as well. The cost of packaging and other things are massive at the moment and we all understand that cost-of-living issue is there and I am sure the Government accepts that as well. I will not detain the Minister of State any longer on this. I welcome his response and thank him for coming the House this morning to give us time on this matter.