School meals could be available for all pupils at primary and second level by the end of the decade, according to a review commissioned by the Government.
The report recommends that the Government should consider a “universal school meals” model used by many European countries, according to well-placed sources.
Meals could be rolled out over a seven to eight year time frame starting at primary level.
The report notes that there are varying approaches across Europe over whether meals are free, subsidised or means tested.
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Finland and Sweden are the only European Union member states where school meals are free for all.
In Portugal, seen as a potential model for Ireland, there is a three-tier system where meals are free for the lowest income groups, subsidised for those in the next category while the rest pay the full amount which is capped at a set rate.
Under a universal school meals model, all children have access to the same menu irrespective of their ability to pay.
Advocates of school meals say they help tackle poverty, improve nutrition and combat obesity, in addition to educational benefits such as increased engagement and school attendance.
The school meals programme in Ireland, which has a budget of more than €65 million, supports more than 1,500 schools and organisations nationwide and benefits more than 230,000 children.
Earlier this year Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys commissioned a comprehensive evaluation of the programme with a view to expanding it further.
The programme is a number of different forms including breakfasts, lunches, dinners, cold meals and hot meals.
Hot school meals, in particular, have proven popular with Deis, or disadvantaged, schools where they first trialled in 2019.
However, school meals suppliers have warned that the system is at “breaking point” due to inflation and set rates for meals which have been frozen since 2003.
The country’s biggest supplier of school meals has warned that the system is no longer viable and thousands of pupils risk losing access to lunches and dinners.
[ 'It's a breaking point': Thousands of pupils risk losing school mealsOpens in new window ]
The rates paid to suppliers – 60 cents for breakfast, €1.40 for lunch and €1.90 for dinner – have not changed since the school meals programme was launched in 2003.
During this time, inflation for the cost of food has climbed by at least 33 per cent, meaning that a basket of goods that cost €100 in 2003 now costs at least €133.
The hot school meal option, introduced in 2019, is paid at a higher rate of €2.90 for pupils who recently joined the programme. Ray Nangle, chief executive of meal supplier Freshtoday, warned recently that these rates are becoming unsustainable.
A spokesman for the Department of Social Protection said Ms Humphreys is committed to continuing to expand the school meals programme.
“[The Minister] commissioned the evaluation of the school meals programme to review all elements of the programme, including the funding rates currently being provided for the various meal options,” the spokesman said.
The final report is likely to be published in the new year.
One well-placed source said the Minister is “sympathetic” to an increase in rates and that additional money was allocated to the meals budget for 2023.
