The Oireachtas education and youth committee, which I chair, recently compiled a report on school meals. It is a fantastic scheme led out by our colleague, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and was hugely supported by the Minister, Deputy Foley, when she was at the Department of education. One of our recommendations is that we abolish water charges for schools. The meals are free in the classroom but the water children drink from the school taps is charged for. A lot of schools are in arrears on their water bills. I do not imagine anyone will shut off a school's water. It just seems like an accounting exercise, with one Government agency paying water charges to another body. As preparations for the next budget gather pace, is there any chance school water charges can be abolished in line with free school meals? Could such a striking out of charges possibly be considered in the upcoming budget?

In the last budget and the one before it, we substantially increased the capitation grants allocation. I think it was by €50 per pupil; that might have been the year before last. There was a very substantial increase for primary pupils in particular and also an increase for post-primary pupils. The Department of housing has always been reluctant in terms of incrementally dropping water charges for different utilities and areas because people would come forward looking for the same for other deserving causes. I am not sure of the impact of water charges on schools' individual budgets. I would have to examine that. I will talk to the Minister in respect of it. The school meals scheme has been fairly extensive, as the Deputy said. It is a huge investment now and it has happened very rapidly across all our schools.