Controversial phone pouches for schools will cost €2m a year to maintain

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the party had received documents under freedom of information that showed there would be an additional €2m spent each year on the devices.

The €9m spend on mobile phone pouches for schools will not be a one-off investment and will cost €2m a year, the Dáil has been told.

The investment was announced in the budget, with Education Minister Norma Foley saying it was a "significant once-off investment".

However, during Wednesday's leaders' questions, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the party had received documents under freedom of information that showed there would be an additional €2m spent each year on the devices.

Ms McDonald said the Department of Education had been told of three free alternatives but these had been eschewed in favour of offering schools the chance to purchase the pouches.

The Sinn Féin leader said the expenditure was proof the Government was not spending public money wisely.

"As we have learned from documents obtained by my colleague Pearse Doherty, through freedom of information, what Minister Foley failed to tell the public that there will, in fact, be a cost of almost €2m for these pouches annually. Government knew this, and yet you continue to peddle the spin that this was a once-off investment.

"And to make matters worse, these documents also show that Government was presented with several common-sense options for dealing with mobile phones in schools. Option one, phones to be left in students' bags with students not allowed to use them during the day, cost to the public purse: zero euros. 

Option two, phones handed in a central point, cost to the public purse, zero euros. Option three, placement in student lockers; cost to the public, zero euros beyond the cost of the locker. 

So, you turned down three common-sense solutions that wouldn't have cost the public a single red cent, and instead you have gone with an option that will cost the taxpayer €9m initially, and then a further €2m every single year.

"You actually couldn't make this up."

In response, Taoiseach Simon Harris said school principals and a number of students had found the scheme useful. He said it was "€20 per kid, if the school wants it".

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"It's not me linking it to mental health. It's the young people themselves. This is about a government listening and responding, because in schools right across the country, different schools have tried different initiatives to deal with smartphones, and you're right. 

"Some schools have adopted the suggestions that you've made. Other schools have tried different approaches, and it's important that we help and assist."

Mr Harris added pouches were being used in the North, where Sinn Féin is in government.