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.

There are now 2,850 primary schools participating in the Hot School Meals Programme for the current academic school year. As announced in Budget 2025, Hot School Meals will be extended to all remaining primary schools in 2025 meaning that there will be 3,200 schools, with 550,000 children, eligible from September 2025.

The Nutritional Standards for School Meals were developed by a technical Nutrition Subgroup comprised of:

• Dieticians from the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute of Ireland,
• The HSE,
• Safefood, and
• The Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

These standards are available to all schools, organisations and suppliers and are publicly available on gov.ie.

The primary relationship is between the school and supplier. All schools who wish to avail of funding under the programme are responsible for choosing their schools meals supplier on the open market, in a fair and transparent manner in accordance with public procurement rules. These rules clearly define the successful tenderer’s responsibilities and obligations, including in relation to compliance with Nutritional Standards for School Meals and Nutritional Standards for Hot School Meals.

Under the Hot School Meals Scheme, parents can choose food for their child every week from an approved menu which contains a range of options that are offered by the school’s supplier in accordance with Nutritional Standards for School Meals and Nutritional Standards for Hot School Meals. The menus must also accommodate those with food intolerances and allergies, including those with the metabolic condition Phenylketonuria.

All schools must submit a sample menu with their application for the School Meals Programme. Funding will not be provided for food that does not comply with these standards. All participating schools must also submit to my department a signed Service Level Agreement which clearly sets out the school’s responsibilities and obligations in terms of compliance with nutritional standards.

On any occasion, where they may be concerns about the options available for children with Phenylketonuria in any specific school, they should be brought to the attention of the school and as the awarding body of the contract, the school should then liaise with the supplier directly to accommodate children with such conditions. If no resolution can be made the school/parent can bring it to my department's attention and it will be followed up accordingly.

I have directed that a review of the scheme’s nutritional standards be undertaken. This will be conducted by a dietician who will be supervised by the Department of Health and in coordination with the Interdepartmental Group on School Meals. I have asked for a report on the nutritional standards be submitted to me by the end of the year.

In the meantime, food that is high in saturated fat, sugar and salt, for example highly processed chicken nuggets, will be removed from the school menu by September 2025. Up to now this food had been permitted once a week at most and only when selected by the child's parents.

I trust this clarifies the matter.