Minister For Education Norma Foley’s proposed ban on smartphones in secondary schools has switched off local Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon.
Last week, it was announced that Foley’s previous plan to ban smartphones in primary school settings is now being expanded to encompass secondary schools.
The Minister told reporters in Dublin on Wednesday “I am now in a space where I’m looking to introduce a ban on the mobile phone at post-primary.”
“I think we’re very conscious of the world in which we live, all studies, including, for example, the United Nations study last year telling us that mobile phones interrupt learning in a school environment.”
“I meet principals who tell me the mobile phone, even though students keep it in their bag, the beeping of it is an interruption to study. It’s a continuous hum almost in the background that’s there,” the Minister said in comments that were carried by the Irish Examiner.
Earlier this year, the Netherlands implemented a similar ban on iPhones, iPads, smartwatches and similar devices in classrooms.
According to Gannon, Foley’s crusade against technology in the classroom is a mere distraction and she is not focusing on more substantial issues such as tackling the teacher recruitment crisis which has become a feature of the education system in Ireland over the last decade.
Gannon, who serves as the Soc Dems’ education spokesperson, said “as the new term begins, principals around the country are once again scrambling to fill teacher vacancies in their schools, with hundreds of posts advertised this month.”
“As schools reopen this week, the Minister’s focus has been on a notional ban on smartphones in second-level classrooms,” he remarked.
While saying the idea “sounds good in principle,” he questioned how exactly would the ban be enforced and that it is merely a drop in the ocean compared to the wide range of problems facing the Irish education system.
“Schools are managed by their patrons, and a smartphone ban is not something that the Minister or her department have any real control over,” he noted.
“Other urgent issues facing schools around the country – such as teacher vacancies and capitation grant shortfalls – are all within the Minister’s gift to resolve.”
He pointed to a 2022 proposal by his party that would directly tackle the issue of teacher shortages, which have been described as one of the major contributing factor to the stagnation of the Irish education system.
“It is now almost two years since the Social Democrats put forward a range of measures aimed at dealing with teacher shortages. But attempts by Minister Foley to resolve the issue since then have been described as ‘minimalist cosmetic interventions’ by teachers and have failed to make a dent in the problem,” he said.
He noted that the party proposed a reduction in the Professional Master of Education (PME) from two years to one to help address the significant costs of studying to be a teacher, which are in excess of €12,000.
“To date, the Minister has flatly refused to consider this practical measure to ease the financial burden placed on student teachers and their families,” he said.
“The Minister should be encouraging new teachers to remain in Ireland after they qualify. That means giving them permanent, full-time jobs on their initial appointment instead of temporary, precarious employment.”
Gannon has been a long-term critic of Foley ever since she became Minister for Education in 2020.
In November 2021, he accused Foley of being “asleep on the job” as the Department of Education were found lacking in giving advice to schools surrounding the winter Covid-19 spike that year and said in April that Foley and the government at large are in a “permanent state of paralysis” on the issue of teacher recruitment.
Last year, Foley floated a similar idea at a Cabinet level with a plan to ban smartphones in primary school settings.
Speaking at the time, she said “smartphones are a fantastic utility that assists us in modern life, however, they must be used with maturity and care and children do not have the maturity to discern what is healthy and what is damaging on phones.”
“Unsupervised use can lead to children being exposed to influences and material that is deeply unsuited to their age,”
To enforce the plan, parents would be asked if they waned to sign a collective pledge which meant that all parents agreed not to buy a smartphone for their child while they were still in primary education.
Replying to Foley’s suggestions at the time, then-Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin remarked the proposals were “not worth the paper they are printed on.”
Dubbing the move “classic Fianna Fáil PR spin,” he accused Foley of focusing on “meaningless guidelines.”
“Schools are being forced to plug staffing gaps with special needs assistants and unqualified staff. Why doesn’t the Minister focus her energy on addressing this crisis instead?” the now-MEP asked.
Foley’s Fianna Fáil colleague Gerry Horkan has praised the proposed smartphone ban.
The Dublin Senator said “I firmly believe that this mobile phone ban is a crucial step forward in enhancing the educational experience of our students. Our schools should be places of learning, friendship, and community, free from the constant distractions that mobile phones present.”
“The Minister’s plan recognises that some students may have medical conditions requiring the use of mobile phones, such as those with diabetes who need continuous glucose monitoring, and allowances will be made in these cases,” he noted.
“It is the priority of Fianna Fáil in Government to continue to explore ways to improve supports and ensure that children and young people are not targeted and are not harmed by their interactions with the digital world.”
Fine Gael Senator Mary Seery Kearney said she was supportive of the ban, saying last year “the minister should establish a school awards scheme that supports schools who take action in support of play, social development and mental health in childhood by the creation of a flag award, where schools can fly the flag of hope and childhood.”
“It is time we take back childhood for our children and stop the gallop towards commodifying them via phones until they are old enough to be able to discern such things for themselves,” she said.