The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) has called on the Government to review the sourcing of food for the school meals programme.

It comes after the association received reports that some of the cheese supplied to the scheme, operated by the Department of Social Protection, is Dutch cheddar.

ICMSA president Denis Drennan has described this situation as “surreal” and nothing less than an “insult” to Ireland’s hard-pressed 18,000 dairy farmers.

He questioned why the Irish dairy sector is promoting the country’s produce on an international scale if the children in Irish schools are being given Dutch cheese by their own government.

“The fact that an Irish government department could not, or would not, be bothered to source Irish cheese speaks volumes about the real attitude that hides behind all the lip-service and platitudes,” he said.

“It’s shocking, but strangely unsurprising set against the prevailing attitude to Irish farming and food.”

Environment

The ICMSA said that Irish dairy products were scientifically proven to involve lower emissions than their Dutch counterparts.

Drennan added that sustainability considerations were neglected when these contracts were signed.

“We are told on a literally daily basis that sustainability and environmental impact should be the paramount consideration in all our decision-making.

“What’s the point of us acting on that and being so guided if our own government are going to buy less-sustainably produced dairy to give to Irish schoolchildren. Farmers, and not just farmers, will find this absolutely bizarre and infuriating.

“We would have thought that that would be the minimum that Irish farmers had a right to expect - and, for that matter, Irish parents and their children.”