Written answers

Tuesday, 18 September 2018

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection

School Meals Programme

Photo of Niamh SmythNiamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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751. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of a meals grant application by a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37529/18]

Photo of Regina DohertyRegina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,580 schools and organisations benefitting 250,000 children at a total cost of €54 million in 2018 representing an increase of €6.5 million over the previous year. The objective of the scheme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement.

The Department was a member of the Inter-Departmental Advisory Group for the Review of the DEIS Programme undertaken by the Department of Education and Skills (DES), following which DEIS Plan 2017 was published in February 2017. The Plan sets out targets and actions aimed at improving the educational outcome for pupils at greatest risk of not reaching their full potential by virtue of their socio-economic circumstances.

Some 240 additional schools, including DEIS and non-DEIS schools, were identified to receive support under the school meals scheme from September 2017 in consultation with DES, which has developed a more robust and responsive framework for assessing individual schools levels of concentrated disadvantage as part of this process.

In 2018 the Department liaised with DES with a view to including additional non-DEIS schools in the scheme, deemed in need of support under the school meals programme, from September. The individual schools were contacted and invited to participate in the scheme.

The school referred to by the Deputy was not identified by DES as requiring support under the school meals programme and I regret that funding cannot be provided at this time. Their application was refused on 12 September 2018 and a letter issued to the Principal to that effect.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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