Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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134. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of schools per county in receipt of the hot meals scheme, in tabular form. [6560/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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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.

In Budget 2025, it was announced that the Hot School Meals Scheme will be extended to all remaining primary schools in 2025, meaning that approximately 3,200 schools and 550,000 children will be eligible for hot school meals in 2025.

The following schools per county are in receipt of the Hot Meals Scheme for the 2024/2025 academic year:

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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135. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications for the hot meals scheme, by county, in tabular form. [6561/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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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.

In Budget 2025, it was announced that the Hot School Meals Scheme will be extended to all remaining primary schools in 2025, meaning that approximately 3,200 schools and 550,000 children will be eligible for hot school meals in 2025.

The following schools per county, have applied to date for the Hot Meals Scheme in the 2024/2025 academic year.