A unique scheme which provides school meals for disadvantaged children in a Dublin school is under threat because of a withdrawal of funding for the staff who run it.
Since 1987, children at Rutland Street school in Dublin's north inner city have enjoyed breakfast and a hot lunch each day in the school canteen. The meals have improved pupil concentration and punctuality and created a positive social atmosphere.
However, the future of the scheme looks uncertain following a decision by FÁS to stop funding community employment (CE) schemes in schools.
The agency's budget for CE schemes is being transferred to the Department of Education, but as yet there are no plans to continue funding for the CE workers who provide the meals. FÁS has, however, agreed to extend funding until November.
"At the moment, we don't know what will happen. It would be dreadful if the meals were taken away from the school," says the principal, Ms Eileen Adams. Rutland Street is the only primary school in the State that provides hot meals for its pupils, she believes.
Rutland Street is famous for Give Up Yer Aul Sins, a best-selling record of biblical tales narrated by its pupils in the 1950s. Located in one of the most disadvantaged areas of the State, it has been the subject of several pioneering initiatives designed to break the cycle of poverty.
According to Ms Adams, the school meal scheme works brilliantly. "The kids come in on time, because they know breakfast is being served. It creates a form of socialisation in a lively family atmosphere. We all gain from it."
The 110 children get juice, cereal, toast and yoghurt in the morning, and dishes such as spaghetti bolognese and bacon and cabbage at lunchtime.
According to the local TD, Mr Tony Gregory, there is "no justification" for discontinuing the scheme. "It's crazy in the context of the Celtic Tiger that some children should be so disadvantaged for this to be necessary, but it is."
The scheme should be extended to other disadvantaged schools, he said.
A spokesman for the Minister for Education, Dr Woods, acknowledged that the phasing out of CE schemes in schools might cause "transitional difficulties". The Minister had put aside a contingency fund to deal with any problems that arose, he said.
Dr Woods has also set up an inter-departmental working group to review the existing school meals scheme.
