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

The objective of the School Meals 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. Following the expansion of the Programme in recent years, some 2,600 schools and organisations, covering 443,000 children are now eligible for funding.

I am committed to continuing to expand the Hot School Meals Programme and building further on the significant extension of the Programme that has taken place in recent years. As part of this significant expansion plan, all remaining primary schools were contacted last year and requested to submit an expression of interest form if their school is interested in commencing the provision of hot school meals.

Expressions of interests were received from over 900 primary schools in respect of 150,000 children and late last year these schools were invited to participate in the Hot School Meals Programme from 8th April 2024. The remaining Primary Schools who have not yet joined the scheme will be able to express an interest to receive Hot School Meals from September 2024. My Department will contact them by email shortly to notify them of the Expression of Interest process.

My Department provides the funding for the Hot School Meals Programme directly to the school and it is the responsibility of each individual school to administer the Programme in their school. All schools who wish to avail of hot meals for their pupils are responsible for choosing their own school meals supplier on the open market in a fair and transparent manner in accordance with Public Procurement rules.

Under tender documentation as stipulated by the Schools Procurement’s Unit, the school meal supplier is responsible for operating policies which progressively addresses environmental considerations such as waste and packaging and is committed to the principles of environmental management in its activities and it encourages the implementation of sustainability principles in its procurement practices, and that the supplier should make all reasonable efforts to minimise adverse environmental impact in the methods of services delivery and in materials used.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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

In March 2023, I published an independent evaluation of the School Meals Programme which sets out the positive impact the Programme is having in terms of children’s education and wellbeing.

The key finding was an overwhelming consensus among all participants in the evaluation that the Programme is effective. Most parents suggested that their child had an improved attitude towards food, highlighting the benefits of the Programme in encouraging healthy eating. Students were asked how they felt about the Programme and their responses were overall positive, and they praised the taste and nutritional quality of the food. Data from Principals showed that their views of the nutritional values, the quality, and the portion size of the meals provided were favourable. Changing children’s attitudes towards healthier eating was also a common theme across Principals’ responses. Most Principals indicated that the Programme improved physical health, attendance and performance.

Taking account of the remaining recommendations of the evaluation, my Department is working to ensure that the Programme can operate and grow in a way that ensures standards are maintained, governance is robust, and that best use is being made of resources. This is being led by my Department in consultation with other stakeholders such as the Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and other relevant agencies, for example the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.