€9m phone pouches plan for schools 'cost effective', department briefing claims

The department briefings also said that in every school where pouches were used so far, the costs had ultimately been paid by parents. Photo: Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

A briefing on a €9 million plan to buy phone pouches for schools said they are easy to use, cost effective, and better for “equity” among students.

A Department of Education document said it also avoided mobiles being put “on display” which could be divisive for pupils over who had the most expensive or up-to-date device. Six schools were contacted about their experiences in using pouches with all of them “very positive” about how it worked.