Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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210. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost for each 1% increase in the funding for school meals. [38156/18]

Regina 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 benefiting 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.

Based on the 2018 budgetary allocation of €54 million, the additional annual cost of expanding the school meals programme by 1% is €540,000. Changes to increase the funding of any scheme administered by my Department would have to be considered in a budgetary context.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.