The government has backed a proposal that every child in Ireland should receive one free hot meal in school every day.
The recommendation was made in a new report into the State’s school meals.
An announcement is expected today to confirm that every child in a Deis primary school will get a hot meal from September 2023.
Deis schools are mainly in disadvantaged areas. Currently, 500 of these schools provide hot meals, while an overall 1,600 schools (260,000 children) receive cold meals.
Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys is due to expand the School Meals Programme to provide hot meals to all disadvantaged and special schools by September, adding 60,000 pupils to the scheme.
For some Irish pupils, the government’s report found that the free hot meal they receive in school is the only hot food they get all day.
Research has found that the free meals scheme has helped to improve “attendance, behaviour management and concentration in class”.
