Written answers

Tuesday, 14 November 2006

Department of Social and Family Affairs

Community Development

9:00 am

Photo of Seán CroweSeán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 98: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will confirm that funding is available to community based education groups, including in RAPID areas, that are providing breakfast clubs and services to young children including children with special educational needs and early school leavers; and the criteria for the funding. [37648/06]

Photo of Caoimhghín Ó CaoláinCaoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 161: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if and when he will expand the school meals scheme to all schools beginning with those in disadvantaged areas. [37653/06]

Photo of Séamus BrennanSéamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 161 together.

The school meals programme operated by my Department gives funding towards provision of food services for disadvantaged school children through two schemes.

The first is the long-standing statutory urban school meals scheme, currently operated by 36 local authorities. My Department funds the food costs jointly with these local authorities, who also manage and fund the administration of the scheme.

The second is the school meals community (local projects) programme through which funding is provided by my Department to participating schools and voluntary community groups in both urban and rural areas who are running school meals projects, including breakfast clubs.

In 2004 a decision was taken to extend the School Meals Programme to nursery schools that catered for disadvantaged preschool children. The funding is being made available to community based not for profit groups that provide preschool education (e.g. Montessori and similar type nursery schools) for disadvantaged children. The scheme does not apply to commercial projects. The purpose of funding is to assist disadvantaged children in gaining maximum benefit from preschool educational services.

Many of the schools that are currently receiving funding are in RAPID areas. All applications from schools in RAPID areas are considered for inclusion in the school meals programme.

The Department of Education and Science has recently initiated a new action plan "Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools" (DEIS) which incorporates many of that Department's existing schemes which target educational disadvantage, including schools with the highest concentration of early school leavers. A total of 875 schools were identified as disadvantaged under the DEIS action plan. Of these, 397 schools were already receiving school meal funding. The remaining schools were contacted by my Department in late August and early September 2006 and invited to apply for funding. A total of 150 of these schools have expressed interest in the scheme and their claims are currently being processed.

The school meals programme has been expanding into additional schools each year. Expenditure on the scheme has risen from €4.6m in 2004 to €8.2m in 2005. The expenditure outturn for the scheme for 2006 is expected to be €13.63m. In 2006, the total number of schools availing of funding has increased to 1,389 while the numbers of pupils benefiting has increased to almost 125,000.

The priority for the school meals scheme in the short-term is to ensure that schools designated as disadvantaged under the DEIS scheme avail of funding. Where schools do not respond to initial mail-shots, my Department will consider direct local contact with schools. I have no plans to extend the scheme to all schools because I consider priority should be given to disadvantaged children.

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