Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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95. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of students involved in the 100 DEIS and special schools that were recently brought in under a project (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28572/14]

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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98. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a breakdown of the payments under a school meals project scheme (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28603/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 95 and 98 together.

The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,600 schools and organisations which benefits some 205,000 children through two schemes. The first is the statutory urban school meals scheme, operated by local authorities and part-financed by the 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.

Despite pressure on the social protection budget, the Government allocated an additional €2 million for the school meals programme in 2013, providing a total allocation of €37 million. The additional €2 million allocated to the school meals programme budget for 2013 was used to extend the school meals local projects scheme to some 100 additional DEIS and special schools benefiting over 9,700 children.

Statistics on the average payment per pupil under the school meals scheme is not maintained by the Department.