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

Debate contribution by Mr Pat Sheehan on 13 April 2026.

MLA

Mr Pat Sheehan

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 5483712

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank and commend my colleague Danny Baker for bringing forward this important legislation. Fundamentally, it is about trying to ensure that some children — it will not deal with all children — who currently go hungry during school holiday periods will not in future because their parents will have the resources to ensure that they are fed. I say that it will not deal with all children because, as many contributors today have pointed out, there are families who do not meet the threshold for free school meals. We are talking particularly about low-paid workers, who are sometimes referred to as the working poor. A couple of years ago, I held a meeting with a number of low-paid workers from the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. Some of them had two or three children at school and they did not qualify for free school meals, so those parents were having to hand out £60 or £70 a week to pay for meals in school. Imagine what that amounts to per month, coming out of a low-paid worker's salary. The Bill is not going to deal with that issue, and there is no pretence that it will. When it comes to progressive measures to deal with hunger among children, we are way behind all the other jurisdictions in these islands. As we sit here in the Assembly, what is more important to deal with than children going hungry in our society? I cannot think of anything more important than making sure that children are properly fed. All the evidence shows that, if children are not properly nourished, they are going to fall behind in their learning at school. The consequences of that are that they will probably leave school without qualifications. Again, the evidence shows that, where young people leave school without qualifications, they are more likely to be unemployed, more likely to have chronic ill health, more likely to have mental health issues, more likely to take their own life, and more likely to come into contact with the criminal justice system. They will also have a lower life expectancy than others from more affluent backgrounds. Those are the consequences of what we are talking about when we refer to children being hungry. I cannot think of anything more commendable that any society could do than ensure that its children are well nourished and looked after.

I absolutely agree with the Chair of the Committee. There seems to be broad consensus in the Assembly today that this is an issue that we should deal with.

I am absolutely sure that the sponsor of the Bill is open to discussions with other Members and other parties on how we make sure that, as the legislation progresses through the Assembly, it is targeted properly at those who most need it and those who are most at risk.

There is a simple proposition here. If we accept that it is right to support children with free school meals during term times, it follows logically that we should support them during school holidays, too, because hunger and poverty do not stop when the school gates close; yet that is exactly the cliff edge that many families face. Around 90,000 children are entitled to free school meals, but, when the holidays come, that support disappears overnight.

Sure, yes.

There is some merit in what you say and a lot of merit in Departments cooperating and collaborating. However, a couple of weeks ago, in here, around the issue of summer schemes for special schools, it was clear that the two Ministers who had responsibility for that could not even pick up the phone and talk to each other. Everyone in the Assembly knew that this legislation was coming and what it was about, so I will ask this question and leave it hanging there. How many conversations have there been between the Minister of Education, the Minister for Communities and the Minister of Health to implement the Children's Services Co-operation Act; to collaborate and cooperate around issues where children are going hungry? They are most vulnerable people in society: young children who are born into situations over which they have no control. Some may end up in loving families, where their parents do everything that they possibly can for them. Some of them will end up in dysfunctional families. Some will end up in dire poverty. Why should a child who is born into an affluent background have a better start in life than somebody who is born into a poor background? Why should we discriminate against children on the basis of how much their parents earn or the level of poverty or affluence that they live in? Every child should have the same start in life. That is what the Assembly should be arguing for. That is what we should be in here batting for. I say it again: we have seen evidence of lack of cooperation. Let us see greater cooperation among the Ministers. We know the reality behind all this. Food bank use is at record levels, and it will go up again with the current crisis of the war with Iran. Some 74% of food parcels are going to families with children. We saw a 49% spike in demand after holiday payments were cut. A number of Members referred to the fact that those holiday payments were being made between 2020 and 2023. The payments were being made by DUP Ministers, and I commend those Ministers for making those payments. Unfortunately, they were not on a statutory basis. Therefore, when it was left to the permanent secretary to make a decision, that was one of the funding cuts. Let us be clear. This is not just about food: it is about education, health and giving kids the best start in life. As my colleague Danny Baker pointed out, many in the Chamber have supported non-binding motions on holiday hunger, but today is the moment to move beyond motions and into action; to put our money where our mouth is. Yes, there will be those who raise concern about the costs. We are talking in the region of £20 million to £21 million, according to the RaISe team in the Assembly. Let us put that in context. First, it is 0·6% of the overall Education budget. We have seen hundreds of thousands of pounds spent by this Minister on phone pouches. What is more important: phone pouches or food for children who are going hungry?

1,084 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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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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