Nutritional value of hot school meals to be reviewed by Government

By Cate McCurry, PA

The nutritional value of hot school meals being provided to hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren is to be reviewed by officials from the Department of Health.

The meals scheme is being expanded to a further 713 primary schools and brings the total number of schools with access to hot school meals to 2,850 schools from April 11.

The expansion brings the total number of primary school children now eligible to receive a hot meal every day to 475,000.

Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary announced a review of the nutritional standards and the removal of the optional food that is high in saturated fat, sugar and salt from school meal menus from September 2025.

The nutritional standards review will be completed by a dietitian, who will be supervised by the Department of Health, according to the minister.

Mr Calleary said he has asked for the report to be submitted to him by the end of the year.

He said that a lot of concerns have been raised about the nutritional value of the programme, adding that he wants it “rooted out”.

“I want to increase the inspections that we do, I want to increase the depth of those inspections across the country,” Mr Calleary said.

“I will do that in the framework of expert advice from nutritionists, people who are actually qualified in this space.

“I’ve asked the Department of Health to get that report to me by the end of this year, by the end of this calendar year, and we make calls and make decisions based on that report.”

The department said it will also speak to any primary schools not currently signed up to encourage them to participate.

Mr Calleary said: “The hot school meals programme has expanded from a small pilot of just 30 schools to a nationwide programme which now makes nutritious hot meals available to all primary schools across the country.

“It has been an extremely successful programme and I want to ensure that we continue to build on the great success of the scheme.

“Under the Programme for Government we will continue to expand and improve the hot school meals programme. We will also ensure that suppliers adhere to robust guidelines on the nutritional value of meals and the dietary requirements of students. We are also working to reduce food waste and utilise recyclable packaging.”

Minister for Education Helen McEntee said: “The hot school meals programme is having a really positive impact on students right across the country and I am delighted that it is being expanded.

“More children having hot meals will help with school attendance, help with educational outcomes for students and above all ensure that children can learn, play and make friends without concerns about hunger.

“The removal of optional meals with higher levels of fat, sugar and salt from menus will ensure that not only will students have access to hot meals, but they will also be more nutritious as well.

“I would encourage any primary schools who are currently not taking part in the scheme to do so, as it will only benefit schools.”