Debate contribution: Education (Holiday Meal Payments) Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mrs Cathy Mason on 13 April 2026.

MLA

Mrs Cathy Mason

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

13 April 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Education (Holiday Meal Payments) Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5483690

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I welcome the introduction of the important legislation that my colleague Danny Baker has introduced. As has been said, if the Bill is passed, it will, during the school holidays, support more than 90,000 children who are in receipt of free school meals, ensuring that no child is left hungry simply because the school gates are closed.

However, this is about so much more than numbers; it is about our responsibility and duty to protect the children who need it most.

Let us be very clear today — David Brooks mentioned it earlier — that children do not fall into poverty by themselves. Those children do not choose poverty or hunger, nor do they choose the circumstances that they are born into. They should never have to pay the price for political failure or economic decisions that are completely beyond their control. Poverty does not just shape childhood; it limits the future. It does not stop at the classroom door. That is something that the Minister of Education and his colleagues need to wake up to and realise. Every time that we fail to act, we are telling children that being left behind is acceptable. No one should ever stand over that. I have spoken to teachers across the North who are witnessing this every single day. Children are arriving to school hungry. They are struggling to concentrate and to stay awake. Staff are reaching into their own pockets to buy cereal bars, and they are keeping drawers full of snacks just to try to get those children through the school day. How on earth can we accept that and expect children to thrive in their education? Surely that very simple, real-life example alone should be enough to compel any Education Minister to act and to prioritise ensuring that those children receive a decent hot meal and that they are not left without support during the summer months when they are, perhaps, at their most vulnerable. The soaring cost of living is pushing countless families to the brink. Far too many parents are facing the cruel and impossible choice between heating their homes and feeding their children. At a time of global instability, including Mr Burrows's mate Donald Trump's reckless and illegal war in Iran, which is sending economic shock waves across the world, it is the most vulnerable in our society who are left to carry the heaviest burden. Mr Burrows, I am delighted that you find it so funny that we are talking about children in poverty and how that war is further impacting on them.

No, I will not.

You find it acceptable to sit and laugh. That is why we must step up. It is why we have not a choice but a moral obligation to act. Yet, what do we see? We have a former DUP leader, Arlene Foster, calling for cuts to welfare in order to boost defence spending. We have sitting DUP Education and Communities Ministers gaslighting the public, claiming that there is no money to tackle poverty and disadvantage while actively blocking the agreement of a multi-year Budget that would allow Departments to plan, invest and start delivering. In his earlier intervention, the Minister asked what services would need to be cut. I then asked why money can always be found for war but not for hungry children. Why can millions of pounds be found for pet projects such as the TransformED reform agenda? Why can hundreds of thousands of pounds be spent on mobile phone pouches, yet when it comes putting food on a child's plate, suddenly the coffers are empty? This is not about resources but about priorities. The priority must be our children. Protecting children is not optional; it is the most fundamental duty that we have. The Bill is therefore not just welcome but necessary. In the absence of leadership from the DUP Minister, Sinn Féin will step up to deliver for those children and young people. No child should go without food; it really is as simple as that. While the Bill alone will not end child poverty, it is a vital step forward. It is a practical, real intervention that will make a difference to families across the North. As has already been said, it must be seen as part of a wider ambition. The Department for Communities should go back to the drawing board with the anti-poverty strategy. The Bill will, hopefully, move us towards universal free school meals, a society where no child is left behind and the beginning of truly tackling educational underachievement. When a child is hungry, they cannot learn or thrive, and we as a society are failing them. The Bill should be our moment to act. We need all parties in the Assembly to get behind the legislation. As Danny has already mentioned, we in Sinn Féin stand ready to work with anybody who wants to scrutinise the Bill to make it the very best that it can be. We need to be serious about ending holiday hunger, tackling educational underachievement and fulfilling our shared duty to ensure that every child, regardless of their background, is supported, protected and given the strongest possible start in life. No child should ever be left behind, and no child should ever go hungry.

880 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:18 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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