Written answers

Wednesday, 15 February 2006

Department of Education and Science

School Meals

9:00 pm

Photo of Seán CroweSeán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 277: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she supports the provision of breakfast and lunch in all primary schools; and, if so, the position regarding same. [5916/06]

Photo of Mary HanafinMary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The provision of school meals is primarily funded by the school meals programme, administered by my colleague, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, and involves both an urban scheme operated by 36 participating local authorities and a local projects scheme, which operates at both primary and second level. Under the urban scheme, 55,000 pupils benefited in 2005 while 63,000 benefited under the local projects scheme. Total expenditure in 2005 was over €8 million. Additional funding is also available under educational inclusion measures operated by my Department.

My Department has been working in close co-operation with the Department of Social and Family Affairs to ensure that the resources available for school meals are used to best effect and to further expand school meals provision in schools serving disadvantaged communities.

Delivering equality of opportunity in schools, DEIS, the new action plan for educational inclusion, provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and a new integrated school support programme. The programme will bring together a number of existing interventions in schools with a concentrated level of disadvantage and build upon them.

Approximately 600 primary schools and 150 second level schools will be included. The new action plan will be introduced on a phased basis, starting during the current school year. It will involve an additional annual investment of €40 million on full implementation. The identification process for the new school support programme is nearing completion and my Department will be issuing an invitation to the schools selected for participation in the programme shortly.

Under DEIS, all primary schools and second level schools included in the new school support programme will have access to the school meals programme on a phased basis, with co-ordination being provided at school cluster level.

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