Clare Principal Says Schools Should Receive Funding To Provide Food For Students In Need

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A Clare principal is calling for grants to be made available to schools to provide meals and other forms of assistance to students in need.

It comes in the wake of new research, which shows that almost three quarters of parents are worried about being able to provide basics like food, heat and electricity for their family.

St Flannan’s College in Ennis has been running a breakfast club for students for the last number of years to aid low-income families.

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New research published this week shows food poverty is on the rise as a result of the spiralling cost of living.

The survey carried out by Barnardos, in conjunction with Aldi Ireland, highlights the growing difficulties parents face in feeding their families.

The data shows that 25% of parents surveyed prioritised food over other household bills such as electricity and heat with 68% saying their available budget is barrier to providing their families with nutritious food.

For the past number of years, transition year students at St. Flannan’s College have been running a breakfast club to provide sustenance to children whose parents are struggling with the cost of living.

However, the St. Flannan’s principal, Father Ignatious McCormack, suggested that the government could provide designated funding to schools to enable them to further ease food poverty faced by families.

47% of parents who participated in the survey also said that inflation is having a negative impact on their ability to provide food for their families.

President of the Clare branch of Clare Saint Vincent De Paul, Denis Carty said social welfare rates must be increased in line with inflation to bolster families’ purchasing power.

You can listen to the full interview below.