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

113. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of students at primary, post-primary and in other organisations that were provided with free hot school meals in 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form. [27482/24]

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

114. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated average cost of providing hot school meals per child in primary school; the cost per child in post primary schools the cost per child in other organisations respectively, in the 2022-2023 and to date in 2023-2024, academic years in tabular form. [27483/24]

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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 113 and 114 together.

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.

The Hot School Meal option of the programme was introduced in 2019 and is currently solely available to primary schools. Since my appointment as Minister for Social Protection, I have increased the number of schools with access to the Hot School Meal option from an initial pilot of 30 schools to a position where over 2,000 primary schools now eligible to receive a hot meal.

A total of 316,046 children are eligible for hot school meals with 265,423 children now benefitting from the scheme to date. Details of the number of pupils availing of the programme, in addition to the yearly average costs per pupil, are included in the tabular statements below.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Pupils Benefitting from Hot School Meals - Primary Schools

Average Cost of Hot School Meals per Child - Primary Schools