Written answers
Tuesday, 16 April 2024
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Departmental Schemes
Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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535. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the estimated cost of abolishing the parental levy on the school milk scheme; the costs of the levy for each of the past five years inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15994/24]
Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland receives a fixed annual funding allocation for the School Milk Scheme from the EU Commission of €830,000. This sum is insufficient to cover the costs of the scheme in its current format. Parents of pupils participating in the EU school milk scheme who attend DEIS classified schools are exempt from a parental contribution for their children's participation in the EU school milk scheme and accordingly receive school milk free of charge. A parental contribution is in place for those pupils attending non-DEIS classified schools.
The parental contribution paid by parents to schools for onward payment to the milk suppliers bridges the cost of the milk charged by the suppliers and the financial allocation made available to Ireland from the EU. The parental contribution is therefore not income received by the State. This is deemed necessary in order to support the wider availability of the EU school milk scheme to those pupils from non-DEIS schools who choose to enrol, so enabling greater participation in the scheme.
The parental levy paid by schools directly to milk suppliers and reported to my Department for the past five years was
| Year | SMS – Parental Contribution |
|---|---|
| 2018/19 | €366,413 |
| 2019/20 | €252,349 |
| 2020/21 (Covid Year) | €87,461 |
| 2021/22 | €149,364 |
| 2022/23 | €162,440 |
The aim has always been to keep the parental contribution as low as possible while allowing the maximum number of children to benefit from the scheme. For the current school year the parental contribution, per child per week of enrolment in the scheme does not exceed €1.20 on a national basis.
The rate of parental levy depends on the price charged by the individual milk suppliers to the schools. This price can change per school year and can vary per supplier.
The cost of abolishing the parental levy on all supplies of milk is dependent on a number of factors and is not a fixed amount. These variables include the price of milk charged by the suppliers and participating numbers can fluctuate from year to year. I am satisfied that the current arrangements are appropriate for the effective implementation of the schemes.
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