Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The School Meals Programme funds the provision of food to some 1,700 schools and organisations benefitting some 300,000 children. The objective of the Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to enable them to take full advantage of the education provided to them.

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.

Ennistymon Vocational School, which was a DEIS secondary school, amalgamated with two non-DEIS secondary schools – Meanscoil na mBráithre and Scoil Mhuire – to form Ennistymon Community School at the end of August 2023.

In line with Department of Education policy, the pupils from the former DEIS school holds its DEIS supports, including school meals funding, for a period of 6 years until the pupils from the former DEIS school have transitioned out of the school. In other words, the students who had been in the DEIS school before the amalgamation can retain their entitlement to school meals until they have completed secondary school.

I have instructed my officials to continue funding for school meals for all students at the amalgamated school until the end of the school year. This will allow time for officials from my department and the Department of Education to engage with the Principal and the Board of Management of Ennistymon Community School on these matters.

I trust this clarifiers the matter for the Deputy.