State to launch year-round holiday meals programme for schoolchildren starting next year

In testimony before the Public Accounts Committee, John McKeon announced that a state-funded holiday meals service will start next year, building on a 2025 pilot that fed more than 42,000 vulnerable children across 500 schools. The broader hot school meals programme currently delivers roughly three million hot meals each week to around 500,000 pupils, with spending of €230 million last year and €286 million allocated for 2026.

A Comptroller and Auditor General report identified significant oversight gaps, including over-funding for schools that reported enrolments above official numbers and a €34 million surplus carried forward. The department is evaluating a new funding model that would initially provide 95 % of allocations from September 2027, with adjustments as needed. A nutrition review found that most meals meet low-fat, low-salt, low-sugar standards, though parents have raised concerns about processed foods and desire more cold-lunch options.