Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-10-01
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Joanna Byrne (SF), Louth

Several times this year, I have raised the hot school meals programme for St. John's and St Paul's schools in Drogheda, including with the Taoiseach back in March. These schools have an in-house canteen providing affordable daily hot food options for children. The Department of education saw its value and importance. It has been lauded as a best practice model for school meals and it has been cited in various publications as a good guide for school food initiatives. Despite providing the first breakfast club of its kind in the State, meeting all of the recommendations and ticking every box for what the Government says it is trying to achieve with school meals, the schools now apparently do not fit the Government model for hot school meals. I ask the Tánaiste to make this make sense to me.
Both these schools are at the heart of a proud community in Drogheda that has felt the brunt of organised crime feuds. The breakfast clubs, school meals and canteen are a lifeline for the whole community. The schools need clarity from the Minister and the Department. I ask the Tánaiste to ask the Minister to now visit the schools, provide the funding, ensure they do not lose their staff and endorse the model so that they do not lose the ability to run their breakfast clubs and continue to provide hot, nutritious meals to their students.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-10-01/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:01:00+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-10-01