Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 February 2026
436. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the total spending on the hot school meals programme in each of the past ten years; the percentage of food provided through the programme that is not of Irish origin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11215/26]
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.
The Hot School Meals Programme was first introduced as a pilot programme to 37 schools in 2019. Details of annual expenditure from 2019 to 2025 is provided in the table below.
|
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
€54.31m |
€53.46m |
€58.38m |
€77.51m |
€108.71m |
€181.43m |
€230.02m |
My Department provides the funding for food to schools. All schools who wish to avail of funding are responsible for choosing their school meals supplier on the open market, in a fair and transparent manner in accordance with public procurement rules. These rules clearly define the successful tenders responsibilities and obligations. The primary relationship is between school and supplier.
There is no stipulation that food should originate from Ireland only. It should be noted that under EU laws, and as reflected in public procurement rules, it cannot be specified that food must originate from a particular country. That would be in breach of EU single market rules.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
