Hot meals scheme 'discriminates' against small rural schools - TD
The government's current hot meals scheme is a “disgraceful discrimination” against small schools and rural communities according to the leader of Independent Ireland.
The Independent Ireland Cork South-West TD, Michael Collins, said the hot meals programme had promised fairness "but has unravelled into a policy with more holes than help".
Deputy Collins is now warning that this has left smaller schools and rural communities "at risk of losing out altogether".
“We have consulted with parents, teachers and principals across the country, and the message is loud and clear — this policy is unworkable as it stands.
"Small schools, often at the heart of rural communities, are being pushed to the wall by impossible regulations and no extra support. This is discrimination, plain and simple, and it cannot be allowed to stand,” he warned.
In Budget 2025, it was confirmed that the hot school meals schemed would be extended which would mean that approximately 3,200 schools and 550,000 children should be eligible for hot school meals this year.
However according to the Cork South-West TD new procurement and food safety rules have placed what he described as "an impossible burden on providers".
Deputy Collins said that schools with just a handful of pupils or “domestic schools” that only require a small oven to heat meals are being told they now need designated rooms with architectural certification, mechanical ventilation, upgraded electrics, and strict waste removal procedures.
He said that hot meals providers also have to register as Food Business Operators for every individual school which the TD said had resulted inn additional insurance, compliance and staffing costs that "simply cannot be met on the €3.20 per pupil allocation".
According to the leader of Independent Ireland parents, teachers and principals have also raised serious concerns about "the shameful waste built into the scheme".
“At a time when government claims it is determined to cut waste, it has actually created a system that generates waste — food waste, financial waste, and community frustration. It is disgraceful, and it needs to change.
“Providers are walking away because they can’t meet the unrealistic standards without extra funding.
"And what’s the result? Children in smaller, rural schools are left without meals. Parents, teachers and communities are rightly furious," Deputy Collins said.
He now plans to raise of the hot meals programme directly with the Minister for Education and the Taoiseach once the Dáil resumes.
“This is not just about food — it’s about equality.
"Children in small schools are entitled to the same supports as children in larger urban schools. Rural communities are sick of being treated as second-class.
"Government must act immediately to fix this mess, provide the necessary subsidies, and deliver a scheme that is fair to every school, every community, and every child," Deputy Collins said.
