Over 17,000 children avail of the School Meals Programme in the Shannonside region.
The figures come following a parliamentary question from Tipperary TD Ryan O'Mearato Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary.
The objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them.
The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement.
All primary schools are eligible for the Hot School Meals Programme for the current 2025/2026 academic year.
Locally, Roscommon sees the highest number of recipients at 6826.
This is followed by 4677 in Longford and 3128 in Leitrim.
In total, nationally, there are 418,964 recipients.
