Major national survey makes recommendations to strengthen Hot School Meals Programme

Providing a cold lunch option and offering different portion sizes are some of the recommendations emerging from an extensive national survey on the Hot School Meals Programme.

The Fine Gael survey, launched by Senator Linda Nelson Murray today, received 8,000 responses from parents, suppliers, teachers, school principals and other stakeholders.

Senator Nelson Murray, from Meath, explained: “The Hot School Meals Scheme is now accessible to every primary school across the country, serving over 3,200 schools and approximately 550,000 children. We were keen to get accurate feedback from schools, suppliers and parents to enhance the effectiveness of the programme ahead of its rollout to secondary schools.”

“We have heard from all sectors, and this is crucial for the future success of the scheme. What has been compiled is a comprehensive report which will help guide Government in future decisions,” she said.

Findings included perceived issues relating to food quality, taste, freshness, and centralised cooking models. These views significantly influencing participation rates. Respondents expressed a strong preference for fresher food options and greater flexibility in meal provision with many disappointed by the recent nutritional changes.

The resulting Fine Gael report makes a list of recommendations, which have been adopted as party policy. They include:

1. Providing a hot and cold lunch option for children at school, eg: sandwiches and/or soup. Most of the suppliers are only set up for the hot school meals and therefore cannot supply the cold meal option. Allow tendering of hot and cold suppliers at the same time or ensure suppliers offer both hot and cold food.
2. Evaluating Nutrition versus Consumption: Many comments reflect that children don’t enjoy the food as much as they did prior to September 2025. Examine the impact of the changes since September 2025, including issues such as participation rates, consumption of meals, food waste, among others.
3. Pilot for Secondary School Hot School Meals: The current system, which sees the programme finish at the end of sixth class, results in a cliff edge that needs to be rectified. In order to meet the Programme for Government commitment of expanding the programme to secondary schools, a pilot scheme should be introduced in DEIS secondary schools as soon as possible.
4. Portion size evaluation: The same portion sizes are given to junior infants and sixth class. This accounts for a lot of waste in the junior classes. A five-year-old child does not require the same quantity of food as a 12-year-old. A 250g portion is given to all. Portion sizes need to be in line with children’s ages.
5. Opt Out: 80pc of parents who took the survey send in another lunch and most don’t opt out of the hot school meal, which leads to unnecessary food waste. Conduct reviews every six months so that parents may decide whether to participate or not.

Senator Nelson Murray continued: “An interdepartmental working group has been established to address key challenges such as food safety regulations, procurement compliance, and the introduction of a CORU [i]registered dietician to reassess nutritional standards and it is Fine Gael’s ambition for this report to feed into that work.

“Every child at primary school in Ireland now has access to a school meal at lunchtime, which is something we can be proud of. No child should ever go hungry or have their capacity to learn and play with their peers diminished through a lack of energy or care.

“The impact of this programme cannot be underestimated or dismissed. But the Hot School Meals programme requires significant public investment and it’s important we see the return on that investment, in every sense,” Senator Nelson Murray says.

[i] CORU is Ireland’s multi-profession health regulator