A new survey has revealed alarming statistics about children going hungry in Ireland with nearly four in 10 teachers claiming the number is increasing.
The research was conducted by Kellog Ireland with 211 teachers working in primary and secondary schools nationwide.
It found that a massive 78 per cent of these teachers said they have hungry children in their classroom every week and 40 per cent say it is happening every day.
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Additionally, 73 per cent of teachers say they think the problem has worsened in recent years and one principal says the issue is now being seen in what would be considered more affluent areas of the country.
Shane Loftus, Principal of Our Lady Immaculate School in Darndale in Dublin, told Newstalk: "We would have seen this for a long time.
"But now, just talking to colleagues working in more affluent areas, they’re now seeing it coming through in their areas as well.
"So, people are often calling me and saying, ‘What do you do in your school? How does it work in your school?’"
He said other principals across Ireland are now turning to him asking for advice on how to "alleviate the problems in their schools now as well."
A majority of teachers in this survey also said that hungry children will find it harder to concentrate and that, in some cases, disruptive behaviour will become more common.
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