Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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754. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the name of each company contracted to provide the hot school meals programme, in tabular form; the total cost and duration of each contract; the numbers of schools and students in each county availing of the programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48218/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The School Meals Programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,700 schools and organisations benefitting 300,000 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. In February, the Government approved an additional €14.5m to allow access to the Hot School Meals scheme for all remaining DEIS schools from September 2023. Budget 2024 has increased the funding by an extra €42.5m

Since my appointment as Minister for Social Protection, I have increased the number of schools with access to the Hot School Meal option from 37 to 1,100. 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, the roll out of the Hot School Meals to all remaining DEIS primary and Special schools began in September 2023, benefiting more than 60,000 children.

My Department provides funding directly to the schools and organisations. The schools are then required to procure the provision of the food in compliance with relevant Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point (HACCP), Food Safety regulations and the Nutritional Standards for School Meals.

As such, my Department does not secure contracts with any suppliers of School Meals. It is down to each individual school or organisation to source a supplier that best meets their own individual needs and falls in line with the School Meals guidelines outlined in the Service Level Agreements.

A tabular breakdown of the number of schools and pupils per county with access to Hot School Meal funding from September 2023 has been provided below.

As part of significant plans to extend the Hot School Meals programme, all remaining primary schools were contacted and requested to submit an expression of interest form if their school is interested in commencing the provision of Hot School Meals. Expressions of interest forms were received from over 900 non-DEIS schools in respect of 150,000 children.

I was pleased as part of Budget 2024 to secure funding for the extension of the Hot School Meals programme next year to these 900 schools.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Schools and pupils per county with access to hot school meal funding