Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

439. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of students at primary and post-primary who were provided with free school meals in 2022, 2021 and to date in 2023, in tabular form. [26193/23]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

440. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of providing school meals per child in primary school and the cost per child in post-primary schools. [26194/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 439 and 440 together.

The School Meals Programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,600 schools and organisations benefitting 260,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement.

Budget 2023 provided €94.4 million for the programme. The Government recently approved an additional €14.5m to allow access to the Hot School Meals scheme for all remaining DEIS schools from September 2023.

Funding under the school meals programme can be provided for breakfast, snack, cold lunch, dinner, hot school meals and afterschool clubs and is based on a maximum rate per child per day, depending on the type of meal being provided.

According to information contained on the Department of Education’s website there are 3,231 primary schools and 727 secondary schools with a combined enrolment of 964,590 students (558,133 in primary schools and 406,457 in secondary schools).

The cost of providing a hot school meal at a rate of €3.20 per child, per day to all primary pupils is approximately €321m for a full school year (September to June).

The cost of providing a cold lunch at a rate of €1.70 per child, per day to all post primary pupils is approximately €114m for a full school year (September to June).

The number of students at primary and post-primary who were provided with free school meals in 2022, 2021 and to date in 2023, is contained in the following tabular statement.

I am committed to continuing to expand the School Meals Programme and building further on the significant extension of the programme that has taken place in recent years. In this regard, I intend to roll out the Hot School Meals to all remaining DEIS primary and Special schools from September 2023, benefiting more than 60,000 children.

As part of significant plans to extend the Hot School Meals to all children in the coming years all remaining primary schools have been contacted and have been asked to submit an expression of interest form if their school is interested in commencing the provision of hot school meals. From 2024, I intend commencing the roll-out of Hot School Meals to all remaining primary schools on a phased basis.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Tabular Statement

The number of students at primary and post-primary schools provided with free school meals in the 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023 academic years