Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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I welcome the Minister. I join the Cathaoirleach in welcoming a great sportsman, Bernard Dunne, to the Visitors Gallery. I am honoured to be here in his presence and to be speaking on a matter that is very close to his heart. I would like to acknowledge that a man of his standing having an interest in DEIS schools, in students generally and in the shaping of children is evidence of the great service he does for the State. We should honour him for that. In saying this, I am not taking away from the work done by my colleague, Senator Eamonn Coghlan. It is an honour indeed to have two great sportspeople in the Chamber.

As the Minister knows, I have asked her to confirm the terms of reference for the current review of the disadvantaged schools and the date by which recommended reforms will be implemented. I also ask her to outline the funding that will be available to implement the new delivering equality of opportunity in schools, DEIS, programme in order to cater for the new entrants that will inevitably emerge from this review.

I thank the Minister for coming to the Seanad to debate this important issue. There is no doubt that the DEIS programme, first introduced in 2005, has been extremely successful. Attendance rates have improved, the gap in retention rates between DEIS and non-DEIS schools has narrowed and there have been considerable improvements in maths and reading scores. There is also no doubt that some schools currently included in the DEIS programme no longer have the same level of need as previously. Similarly, some schools previously outside the DEIS programme have now become centres of disadvantaged communities and urgently require access to the supports provided under the programme.

I understand that both the overall DEIS programme and the school meals programme, which is operated by the Department of Social Protection, are currently under review. Given the complexity of the situation with regard to DEIS designation, what are the terms of reverence for the Minister's review and by what date will the recommendations of the review be implemented? Will she also outline the funding that will be available to implement the new DEIS programme to cater for the new entrants that will inevitably emerge as a result of the review?

The DEIS programme has many objectives, one of which is the elimination of food poverty. This is an essential foundation stone on which educational attainment is built. No child can learn when he or she is hungry. I am concerned that there are now serious anomalies in disadvantaged communities. Some DEIS schools have funding for all their children, 60 cent for breakfast - a rather paltry sum - and €1.40 for lunch.However, some schools are only 50% funded. The Minister may say this is a matter for the Department of Social Protection, but a cross-departmental approach is needed to deal with this matter. The issue of child food poverty should be an intrinsic part of the educational policy.

Dr. Paul Dowds of St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra, has said that currently there is no systematic strategy in place to prevent children from being hungry in schools. He has reminded us that unlike countries such as Britain, France and Poland, Irish schools have historically had a poor infrastructure for school meals and are dependent on external suppliers.

In Ireland, there is currently no regulation of school meal suppliers and quality depends on the integrity of the supplier. I ask the Minister, together with the Minister for Social Protection, to review the following issues: increasing the budget for the school meals programme; increasing the allocation for breakfast and lunch by 5% to 63 cent and €1.47, respectively - these have not been increased for over a decade and suppliers are struggling to supply; establishing a list of approved suppliers for school meals programmes to guarantee quality; and introducing the schools meals programme into all schools where there is recognised food poverty, but which do not have DEIS status.

I thank the Minister for attending the House and I hope she will be able to follow up on these issues with the Department of Social Protection. I know that some of these matters are the direct responsibility of the Department of Social Protection but, overall, the Department of Education and Skills has a responsibility for education. Hungry children simply cannot learn. We cannot continue to have staff - as in some places I have seen - paying for breakfast cereals in order that kids will have a basic meal before starting the day. I am not sure if the Minister is aware that is happening in some areas but it is.