The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has said the supply of Dutch cheese to children under the government’s Hot School Meals Programme is “an insult” to Ireland’s 18,000 dairy farmers.
The association said it received a complaint from a member whose primary school child was given Dutch cheddar under the Hot School Meals Programme which is operated by the Department of Social Protection.
The objective of the programme is to provide children with regular, nutritious food to support them in “taking full advantage” of the education provided to them, according to the department.
“We obviously cannot give any identifying details beyond saying that the particular area concerned is one of the most traditional and famous milk-producing districts in the state.
“The fact that an Irish government department could not – or would not – be bothered to source Irish cheese speaks volumes about the real attitude that hides behind all the lip-service and platitudes.
“It’s shocking, but strangely unsurprising set against the prevailing attitude to Irish farming and food,” the association’s president Denis Drennan said.
The Department of Social Protection confirmed to Agriland that it provides the funding directly to the school, and it is then the responsibility of each individual school to administer the programme in their school.
When asked by Agriland whether schools participating in the scheme are in any way encouraged or advised by the department to buy local or Irish produce, the department said:
“Under EU laws, and as reflected in public procurement rules, it cannot be specified that food must originate from a particular country. That would be in breach of EU single market rules.”
Hot School Meals Programme
The Hot School Meals Programme was introduced in 2019 as a small pilot of 30 schools. A total of 2,200 primary schools are now eligible to receive a hot meal, and the programme will be extended to all remaining primary schools next year.
“All schools who wish to avail of funding are responsible for choosing their supplier on the open market in a fair and transparent manner in accordance with public procurement rules and the primary relationship is between school and supplier.Â
“All hot school meals suppliers are legally obliged to ensure the food they produce is safe to eat and are fully responsible in complying with health and safety legislation at all stages as stated by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI),” the department said.
ICMSA
Drennan called on the government to immediately review the sourcing of food for the programme, saying it is not an “unreasonable ask” for the government to source Irish produced food, where possible, to give to Irish school children.
“We would have thought that that would be the minimum that Irish farmers had a right to expect, and, for that matter, Irish parents and their children,” the ICMSA president said.
The ICMSA president added that Irish dairy products are “scientifically proven to involve lower emissions than their Dutch counterparts” and raised the question whether sustainability considerations were brought into play for these contracts.
Commenting further, he said: “We are told on a literally daily basis that sustainability and environmental impact should be the paramount consideration in all our decision-making.
“What’s the point of us acting on that and being so guided if our own government – the ones pushing through regulation after regulation compelling us to do just that – are going to buy less sustainably produced dairy to give to Irish school children.
“Farmers – and not just farmers – will find this absolutely bizarre and infuriating.”
Drennan claimed there is “now a situation where the Irish dairy sector and promotional agencies were going around the world proclaiming the benefits of our unrivalled dairy products, while our own children were being given Dutch cheese by our own government”.