383. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide additional funding or a different delivery model where the standard catering arrangements for school meals are not viable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66436/26]
Topics / School Meals Programme
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsSchool Meals Programme
359 questions from 90 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 21 October 2026.
359
questions
352 written, 7 oral
90
TDs have asked
10
parties and groups
Independents counted together
5
departments asked
Questions per month
The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.
Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 7 |
| February 2025 | 28 |
| March 2025 | 8 |
| April 2025 | 13 |
| May 2025 | 26 |
| June 2025 | 13 |
| July 2025 | 19 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 41 |
| October 2025 | 12 |
| November 2025 | 23 |
| December 2025 | 22 |
| January 2026 | 15 |
| February 2026 | 27 |
| March 2026 | 6 |
| April 2026 | 10 |
| May 2026 | 34 |
| June 2026 | 18 |
| July 2026 | 3 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 25 |
| October 2026 | 9 |
Who asks, by party
The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.
The TDs who asked most
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.
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48
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22
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17
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13
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12
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10
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9
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8
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
384. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection the immediate solution that can be put in place for a school (details supplied) in order that the pupils can receive the same hot meals as children in other schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66437/26]
385. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the assistance that can be provided to a school (details supplied) in a rural Gaeltacht area that is unable to access the hot school meals programme because it has been unable to secure a catering provider; and the measures available to ensure that small rural and Gaeltacht schools are not excluded from the programme due to difficulties securing a provider.…
386. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection about the provision of hot school meals and the difficulties facing small rural and Gaeltacht schools in securing a catering provider (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66443/26]
393. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide a solution to a problem (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66643/26]
410. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection for his Department to engage with a school (details supplied) to roll out the School Meals Programme. [67010/26]
757. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider increasing the prices paid to suppliers of school meals. [64388/26]
758. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider increasing prices paid to suppliers of school meals. [64383/26]
773. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Social Protection if schools in County Leitrim (details supplied) have received their grants for hot school meals supply to date; if he will confirm the payment methods as advised to schools; and if the normal 30-day invoice period for suppliers and per the normal public service supplier code is in operation. [65332/26]
384. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of school children who will be in receipt of hot meals from the start of the next school year, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54503/26]
519. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of providing free school meals for all post-primary school pupils in public schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51282/26]
657. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated full-year cost of providing free school meals for all pre-school children in the ECCE scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51336/26]
530. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection whether schools operating the school meals scheme are expected to prevent invoicing for meals ordered for children who are unexpectedly absent; the authority the schools have to cancel meals on behalf of parents; whether schools can be held financially or administratively accountable for meals ordered through supplier systems, where cancellation is not…
540. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Social Protection the guidance,or assistance that can be afforded to a school (details supplied) whereby they are having difficulty in securing a hot school meals provider. [49192/26]
343. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will advise on a matter raised in correspondence (details supplied) in relation to the tendering process for the hot school meals programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48362/26]
39. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she intends to undertake a review of the Bia Blasta Pre-school Nutrition Programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46787/26]
484. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of children being catered to by each of the five largest hot school meal providers, in tabular form. [47102/26]
34. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update in relation to progress on improving nutritional standard of the hot school meals programme; if he will provide for a pilot project looking into the socio-economic benefits of a model of local procurement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46173/26]
44. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on a pilot of the Hot School Meals Programme to be administered by Meals on Wheels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46282/26]
74. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures he will put in place to ensure that the Hot School Meals Programme supports local employment, delivers freshly prepared meals on a daily basis, and ensures the programme supports sustainability and local economic development across all eligible providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46031/26]
80. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Social Protection whether there is a plan to assist schools who have been unable to source a supplier for hot school meals, being invariably smaller primary schools in rural area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45630/26]
341. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of school meals that were prepared but not taken up in the past year due to pupils being absent and meals not being cancelled in advance; the estimated cost of such wasted meals to the Exchequer in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46467/26]
629. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of providing the school meals programme to all post-primary schools in the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45673/26]
1243. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection if he accepts that where a State-funded programme operates on a permanent and ongoing basis within schools, but significant numbers of workers engaged in delivering that programme are employed on insecure, term-time, or seasonal arrangements vulnerable to disruption upon changes in catering providers, issues arise concerning workforce stability, equali…
1244. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department has undertaken any assessment of the number of persons whose employment arises wholly or predominantly from publicly funded school meals provision and who may be classified as educational seasonal workers for the purposes of social welfare entitlements; whether his Department maintains any data in respect of such workers; and if …