Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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321. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if additional funding will be provided under the school meals programme to community crèches where numbers have increased since their initial application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31761/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to schools and organisations benefitting over 200,000 children at a total cost of €42 million in 2016. Budget 2017 announced an additional €5.7 million for school meals, increasing funding to €47.7 million which will benefit over 50,000 extra children.

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) in line with the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People, Better Outcomes Brighter Futures. The schools and organisations, including community crèches, that joined the scheme prior to the introduction of DEIS would have done so under the various educational disadvantaged programmes in place at the time. These schemes included School Completion Programmes, Giving Children an Even Break, Home School Community Liaison Scheme, Designated Disadvantaged, Early Start and Breaking the Cycle.

The additional funding provided in Budget 2017 will support further extending the scheme in DEIS schools and the provision of some breakfast clubs in non-DEIS schools from September 2017. Any further extension of the scheme, to include community crèches, can only be considered in a budgetary context.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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322. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if administration fees will be provided with grants of over €10,000 in view of his Department's requirement for separate bank accounts for the payment of these grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31764/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to schools and organisations benefitting over 200,000 children at a total cost of €42 million in 2016. Budget 2017 announced an additional €5.7 million for school meals, increasing funding to €47.7 million which will benefit over 50,000 extra children. Funding under the scheme is for food costs only.

Following an audit of the school meals scheme by the Comptroller and Auditor General in 2014 a number of improved control measures were introduced, including the requirement for existing schools receiving payments in excess of €10,000 per annum to operate a separate bank account for school meals funding from the commencement of the 2016/2017 school year. The control measures introduced will improve and strengthen the overall control within the scheme.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.