2026-01-15

I would like to raise an important issue with regard to St. Malachy's Mixed National School, St. Helena's Road, Finglas south. St. Malachy's is a mixed senior DEIS band 1 school and has been central to the community of Finglas south for almost 50 years. When it opened first, it catered for over 200 children. St. Malachy's was the third primary school in Finglas south along with St. Finian's National School and St. Oliver Plunkett's Junior National School. At its height from the early 1980s onwards, St. Malachy's had almost 600 children and 19 teachers. However, from the late eighties, numbers began to fall gradually and today there are 132 students. Currently, the school has a principal, seven class teachers, three special education teachers and one shared home school liaison officer. St. Oliver Plunkett's Junior National School has provided around 95% of the children to the school since the late 1970s. St. Malachy's became part of the DEIS programme of support for schools in 2005. It is also a trauma-informed school. The school ensures that there is a safe, nurturing and supportive environment for all of the students. For example, many of the children who attend St. Malachy's have experienced or are experiencing homelessness and this has had a major psychological effect on them and greatly impacted their education. That is why the school's participation in the school completion programme is so important. The school completion programme provides support for children and young people at risk of early school leaving. Through this programme, St. Malachy's has access to four play therapists, a breakfast club and a school transition programme, assisting the sixth class students with their transition to secondary school. The programme has proven to be very successful, as many students come from vulnerable communities. Through this programme, they are encouraged to complete their education, helping them to develop into confident and accomplished young people and young adults. However, it is a struggle for many of the children. Some come from as far away as Ashford because they are living in homeless accommodation. It would be difficult for an adult experiencing these circumstances, but it is 100 times more difficult for a small child to get themselves up and about to be in time for school in Finglas. It is no surprise that many of these children will not have a breakfast and probably will not have a proper meal until they get home late in the evening. This is why the provision of food at school is so important for these vulnerable children. Studies show that school food will significantly impact the student's physical and mental health by improving concentration, overall academic performance, and behaviour. St. Malachy's has made an application previously for funding for a breakfast club. It received funding for a so-called snack club and the provision of hot meals later in the day. The snack club provides pupils with some sliced apple, a rice cake or a similar thing each morning. They get two pieces of whatever is on offer. Breakfast is often said to be the most important meal of the day. For many of the children who go to St. Malachy's, it is an essential meal to start every day of their learning. Who knows when some had a meal at home after school? They might not have had any or it might have been so long since they ate last that whatever they have for breakfast in school might be essential to sustain them for the next few hours. St. Malachy's does not get any funding for a breakfast club. In the past, the school used any surplus money provided for the snack club and the hot meals programme to provide a basic breakfast for as many children as it could manage. The school completion programme does not provide any funding for staff to run a breakfast club. The individual who puts the breakfast together does so on a voluntary basis. The school has been told that it cannot use funds allocated for the snack club and the hot meals programme to be diverted into providing a breakfast for pupils. It should be the case that schools are the ones in the best position to decide how the children should be fed. It makes no sense that, if there is some surplus money out of the existing funds, it cannot be used to provide the most important meal of the day.

I am very grateful to Deputy Ellis for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection. 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. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. In the last budget, the hot school meals programme was extended to all remaining primary schools. This means that approximately 3,700 schools and 682,000 children are eligible for school meals. There are 3,200 primary schools participating in the hot school meals programme for the current academic school year. A budget of €286 million has been provided for the scheme in 2026. There are a number of meals clubs available under the school meals programme. The breakfast club is but one of them and was aimed at DEIS schools pre 2022 to ensure that the most disadvantaged children were able to have a breakfast meal before school. To date, 778 schools are receiving the breakfast club. This means that 149,401 children benefit from this club, at an annual cost of €19.4 million. An evaluation of the schools meal programme was conducted in 2023. The report highlighted the effectiveness of the programme, including improved academic results. Studies show that school meals improve academic performance by increasing the time children spend in school and so provide support for families. The programme saves money and time on food preparation. Under the programme for Government, there is a commitment to continue to expand and improve the free hot school meals programme and ensure that suppliers adhere to robust guidelines on the nutritional value of meals, the dietary requirements of students, the reduction of food waste and the use of recycled packaging. As the rate of payment for a breakfast club and snack club funding are the same, some schools operationally split the snack club funding allocated between breakfast and snack. This does not alter their total allocation. St. Malachy's Mixed National School has been in the school meals programme since 2016 and continues to receive payment for a snack club and hot school meals for 131 pupils. The total funding allocation for this school year is €93,141. When the hot school meals programme was being rolled out to original DEIS schools, they were entitled to retain meal club funding for their snack clubs. St. Malachy's Mixed National School is part of a school completion programme funded by the Department of Education and Youth, with operational responsibility managed by Tusla's education support service and a local management committee. The committee is responsible for the oversight of the project delivery at a local level, including the use of project resources, employment of staff and accountability of public funds. The Department of Social Protection has provided the funding request from St. Malachy's Mixed National School and the local management committee of the school completion programme is considering how best to utilise the funding. If there is anything that we can do to be supportive of the Deputy's efforts and to make sure that this is a school-led initiative, the Minister is more than happy to meet him, perhaps for a deputation meeting, should that be required.

I thank the Minister of State. We are constantly being told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. To any child in homelessness or in a vulnerable circumstance, it is essential that the morning start with a proper breakfast. It is a credit to St. Malachy's that it has managed to provide a proper breakfast for some of its pupils. Funding for a snack club is simply not good enough. It is totally inadequate. There is also no funding available to run a breakfast club or for staff to run it. St. Malachy's does fund raising and also uses money left over from the snack club to provide some pupils with a breakfast. Funding should be allocated on a more general basis as being for the provision of meals for pupils. The position should be that the schools know best. They are the ones that should allocate the funding as they see fit. It should not be the case that there is some diktat on how funding should be spent on meals in schools such as St. Malachy's. I urge the Government to reconsider the Department's attitude with regard to how money is spent and to provide the necessary funding for breakfast clubs for this DEIS school. The Government constantly talks about DEIS schools. We know the work being done and how important these schools are, but to provide a meal that consists of just a small snack or similar is not good enough. There are a lot of very vulnerable kids in these schools, including in this school. We really need dedicated funding for our breakfast club and for those children to go to school in order that they can learn and are not going there hungry. That is so important. I therefore urge the Government to look at the way this money and this funding are being provided.

I thank the Deputy once again for raising this matter and for allowing an opportunity to discuss the school meals programme and, in particular, the breakfast and snack clubs. I assure him that the Ministers for Education and Youth and Social Protection are both very much aware of the importance of children being able to receive a breakfast meal before they start their school day. The breakfast or snack club is a targeted support to those most in need. The Department of Social Protection continues to expand the school meals scheme and has prioritised the rollout of hot school meals to all primary schools. In relation specifically to the situation in St. Malachy's in Finglas, I discussed the management structure and the operational need. The funding has been provided from the Department. It is up to the committee to decide the best way to allocate it. I take no issue with the points the Deputy has raised. There is no pushback or opposition from this side of the House. We are all very much trying to achieve the same result in this. That is why I reiterate my invitation to the Deputy and representatives from the school to seek a deputation meeting with the Minister, Deputy Calleary, who is probably the most appropriate, but if not, the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, on this matter. Whatever I can do in my power as a Minister of State within the Government to help the Deputy to facilitate that, that offer stands. This sort of common-sense use of a Topical Issue is so important to make sure we are all working collectively for the greater good, in this case not only for the children, the families and the community more widely in St. Malachy's but for all those who face these issues. I thank the Deputy once again for raising this issue.

Before we move along, I would like to say a big "hello" and "fáilte" to Dundalk Grammar School, here on the invitation of Deputy Butterly, and to the Deputy's former business teacher, Mr. Brady. You are very welcome to Leinster House. I hope you enjoy yourselves.