Hot school meals could be expanded to cover holidays, Harris says

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

Taoiseach Simon Harris wants to examine how children can be provided with hot school meals outside of term time to address “holiday hunger” in disadvantaged families.

Mr Harris, who was speaking at a Fine Gael event in Dublin on Tuesday which focused on parents and working families, said the measure was being considered by the child poverty unit within his department.

He said there will be a range of cost-of-living supports and measures for businesses in the Budget, adding it is “important” to use a financial surplus to support struggling families.

He said: “I want parents, working families and people right across Ireland to know we’re eager to do more.

“The Budget is just now weeks away on the first of October. Of course, we could all point to statistics that show inflation falling and showing, in some cases, prices are falling.

“But let’s also be honest, that has not yet been felt by parents, by families, by businesses, by farmers, across the length and breadth of the country.

“That’s why there absolutely will be a cost-of-living package as part of the Budget on the first of October – and that’s a cost-of-living package that will kick in by the end of this year.

“I think it’s important when the country is doing well, when the country will have a financial surplus this year, I think it’s important that we use a proportion to help families, to help people who are struggling to make ends meet.”

The comments come amid growing expectation that the general election, which has to occur before March 2025, will be called between the Budget in October and Christmas.

The Taoiseach said last year’s €2.2 billion cost-of-living package included approximately €900 million in energy credits alongside other measures including additional social welfare payments, pension payments and lump sum payments.

However, he said the scale and make-up of this year’s package has yet to be decided.

Mr Harris said: “There will be one, there needs to be one – and it needs to take place this year.”

Noting that the hot school meals programme had been expanded to mean that more than 345,000 primary pupils were eligible, the Fine Gael leader said the next step was to address “holiday hunger”.

He said: “If you are in a school where you’re providing hot school meals and you’re guaranteed that your child is getting a nutritious meal five days a week.

“All of a sudden the school is closed during the school holidays, I want to see and look at this in the context of the Budget, how we can continue to provide meals to children, particularly children from a disadvantaged economic background.”

Mr Harris also said there would be measures for Ireland’s small and medium enterprise (SME) sector.

He said indigenous SMEs were the “most important part of our economy”.

“They’re really feeling pain at the moment. You go into a shop, a cafe, a restaurant, and it seems busy.

“You say to the owner that it’s bustling, and it is, but they say that there’s an awful lot of hidden cost here, and the bottom line isn’t as healthy as it should be.”

Mr Harris say there would be a “range of measures” for SMEs and foreign direct investment, but did not provide specifics.