Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 September 2025
287. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection to list every post-primary school that applied for participation in the hot school meals or school meals scheme and that was refused or deemed ineligible since 2022, with reasons; and to explain the evidence base for excluding post-primary pupils when England, Finland and the United States apply standards or programmes across older cohorts. [49464/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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 3,700 schools and organisations and 682,000 children will be eligible for the School Meals Programme from September 2025.
Funding under the school meals programme can be provided for breakfast, snack, cold lunch, dinner, hot school meals and afterschool clubs and is based on a maximum rate per child per day, depending on the type of meal being provided.
DEIS Secondary Schools qualify for the breakfast/snack, cold lunch or dinner option. Under the Programme for Government, I plan to commence the rollout of Hot School Meals to secondary schools over the lifetime of this Government. However my immediate priority is to complete the rollout at primary school level.
All primary schools now have an entitlement for Hot School Meals and under the programme for Government, I will commence the rollout of Hot School Meals to all secondary schools over the lifetime of this government. This is comparable to the Finland model where school meals is free to all primary and secondary schools. England operate a different model which is free for the first three years in infant schools then entitlement is based on family income. In the United States children may be determined “categorically eligible” for free meals through participation in certain Federal assistance programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or based on their status as a homeless, migrant, runaway, or foster child.
School meals is crucial in the context of the EU Child Guarantee, an initiative designed to ensure that children at risk of poverty or social exclusion have access to a set of key services. Ensuring that all children have access to these meals is integral to fulfilling the objectives of the EU Child guarantee to which Ireland has signed up.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
