€9 million in smartphone pouch funding for schools – flop or not?

The day after the Budget has seen the various funds and cuts dissected by the media and opposition alike, and this year’s sticking point is the €9 million in funding towards smartphone pouches in schools.

Minister for Education Norma Foley said the funding is a “positive, proactive step that would allow students to have a mental break from their phones and allow them to learn without distraction.”

“We’re playing a leadership role here. We’re ensuring that students do have a break from the mobile phone…in the overall context of what we’re doing here, the €9m is a health and wellbeing measure,” she told RTÉ.

The funding for smartphone pouch funding comes in the wake of Foley getting Cabinet to sign off on banning mobile phones in schools nationwide.

Fine Gael Senator Mary Seery Kearney said “I am deeply encouraged by the Government’s decisive actions towards enhancing online safety in Budget 2025. Earlier this year, my discussions with Coimisiún na Meán focused on their pivotal role in transforming the online environment into a fortress of safety for all users.”

“The Online Safety Summit this year was a turning point, bringing together leading experts to confront the severe threats looming over our children online.”

“We are laying the foundation for robust infrastructure, including the establishment of an Online Safety Commissioner and the implementation of stringent Online Safety Codes. These measures are designed to strictly hold platforms accountable and shield our young users from harm.”

“A fundamental pillar of our strategy is the enforcement of the digital age of consent. We are steadfast in our resolve that no child below the age of consent should be able to create a social media account without explicit parental consent.

“This is a critical measure to prevent premature exposure to social media, which often leads to cyberbullying, exposure to inappropriate content, and other online risks,” she said.

“The risks are not hypothetical, they can be immediate and damaging. Cyber Safe Kids plays a crucial role in guiding families on how to combat these threats.”

“This initiative will equip parents and children with the knowledge and tools to safely navigate the complexities of the online world.”

Opposition politicians have questioned the funding, however.

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon who called the mobile phone ban “a distraction”, said the funding for mobile phone pouches is “scandalous.”

“With schools around the country struggling to pay their bills or for basic classroom materials due to shortfalls in capitation funding, it beggars belief that the Government should squander millions on phone pouches,” the Dublin Central TD said.

“Yet again, we see the Minister for Education’s pet project taking precedence over more pressing matters, such as the teacher recruitment crisis.”

“There was nothing in the Budget to address this issue, which is forcing some schools to limit the number of subjects they can teach or take special education teachers away from their core roles to fill staffing gaps.,”

Gannon noted that “there are plenty of other areas where the €9 million for phone pouches could be better spent, including increased investment to reduce class sizes in primary schools along with the recruitment of additional teachers and SNAs.”

“While a ban on mobile phones in schools sounds good in principle, it should not be this Government’s priority when it comes to fixing our education system.”

Labour councillor John Walsh said, “it is ludicrous that the government has announced €9 million for mobile pouches, but no funding to reduce class sizes and has failed to resolve the crisis for parents and children with additional needs.”

“This Budget has delivered a higher allocation for mobile phone pouches than the increase in primary school capitation and has no specific allocation to reduce class sizes for the second year running – at a time of a record surplus, the Government has blatantly ignored the real needs of primary school children, parents and schools. Generating positive headlines was more important for Minister than solving real problems facing our schools,” the Dublin West Dáil candidate said.

‘The Government has presided over a national scandal in education for children with additional needs, which has been shamefully neglected in recent years.”

Walsh said that his constituency of Dublin 15 has 20 children with additional lacking appropriate school place as late as July this year.

“The measures announced in the budget speeches yesterday for special education repeat promises of more SNAs and special education teachers made many times before – each time, children with additional needs have left without appropriate places (or sometimes any places) in primary and second level schools and teachers have been left to their devices to support vulnerable children. ”

Walsh called on Minister Foley to whether the Department of Education will commit to delivering new special school classes and support for special schools to ensure that no child is left waiting for a place next September.

He questioned if Foley or the next government would reverse the actual cut by 68% in the proportion of special education teachers in Dublin 15 national schools in 2024-25.

“The Budget was a massive missed opportunity to prioritise education and fails to give schools the essential resources they need to guarantee an inclusive future for our children,” he said.

“The Minister has still not recognised the scale of the crisis in special education and gimmicks and headlines will not produce school places. The Government should clarity immediately whether they are willing to use the unprecedented resources at their disposal to support schools and solve the devastating crisis in special education.”