Additional funding is urgently required to sustain the vital Meals on Wheels Service available at present across the country.
That’s according to Irish Rural Link and the National Meals on Wheels Network.
While both organisations welcome the allocation of €2 million in the 2026 Budget, but they say there is deep disappointment that the allocation will not go far enough for providers who are continuing to struggle with increased demand, rising costs and the lack of sufficient ring fenced funding to enable them to budget adequately for the service.
Last year, over 2.8 million meals were delivered to 228,000 people by 318 HSE funded providers nationwide. The same number if not more are on track for 2025. Yet, the sector remains overstretched, under-resourced, and reliant on a volunteer base that is rapidly declining post-COVID.
Seamus Boland, CEO Irish Rural Link told Midwest News Editor Teresa O’Malley that the lack of strategic investment threatens the sustainability of a service that is central to community care…
