Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour)
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126. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the criteria involved in assessing non-DEIS schools which qualified for the school meals programme prior to 2005, under the following schemes, school completion programme, designated disadvantaged, home school community liaison, giving children an even break and early start; and if any non-DEIS schools have been included in the scheme since 2005. [8620/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food services for disadvantaged children through two schemes. The first is the statutory urban school meals scheme, operated by local authorities and part-financed by this Department. The second is the school meals local projects scheme through which funding is provided directly to participating schools and local and voluntary community groups who run their own school meals projects. The Government has provided €37 million for the scheme in 2014 which will benefit over 205,000 children across some 1,600 schools and organisations.

In recent years priority for new applications for funding has been given to schools which are part of the Department of Education and Skills initiative for disadvantaged schools “Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools”(DEIS).

Existing schools participating in the scheme who have established their food clubs providing support to the children therein continue to receive funding under the scheme. These schools were eligible to join the school meals programme as they were, at the time of application, designated educationally disadvantaged under one of the various Department of Education and Skills initiatives in place at that time. Prior to the introduction of DEIS in 2005, all schools that were part of one of a number of Department of Education and Skills’ initiatives for disadvantaged schools were eligible to participate in the programme, which included Breaking the Cycle, Giving Children an Even Break, the Disadvantaged Area Scheme, Home School Community Liaison and the School Completion Programme. Policy for educational initiatives and criteria for determining educational disadvantage is a matter for the Department of Education and Skills other than the School Completion Programme which is the responsibility of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

For a period of approximately 2 years after the introduction of DEIS, schools which were part of the educational initiatives as outlined above were permitted to join the school meals programme in respect of children whose families were in receipt of social welfare payments, medical cards or experiencing hardship or difficulties due to particular events or circumstances. In addition, a small number of schools, including special schools providing education to children with disabilities, have been admitted to the school meals scheme since 2005.