Over €7m issued by department for phone pouches in post-primary schools

In 2024, the measure was described as a 'new wellbeing initiative designed to support schools to implement bans on the use of mobile phones'. File picture

The Department of Education has issued funding worth €7.1m to post-primary schools for phone pouches and other methods of restricting phone access, such as lockers and cubbies.

The announcement of funding for phone pouches intended to curtail students’ use of smartphones during school was one of the most contentious measures in previous budget announcements.

In 2024, then education minister Norma Foley announced €9m in funding would be allocated for mobile phone storage solutions in post-primary schools.

At the time the measure was described as a “new wellbeing initiative designed to support schools to implement bans on the use of mobile phones”.

However, it attracted criticism from opposition parties, with Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald branding the move as a “waste of public money”.

Last summer, the department introduced a policy in post-primary schools aiming to restrict students’ access to phones during the school day. It stopped short of enacting an outright ban.

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In response to a recent parliamentary question by Fine Gael TD John Paul O'Shea, education minister Hildegarde Naughton said €9m was allocated to “support schools to implement this policy approach”.

Guidance issued by the department advised schools to consider “whether or not the school should use a specific mechanism to implement the restriction such as cubbies, lockers, pouches, handing in to the school office, etc.”

She added: “To date, funding to the value of €7.1m has issued to some 519 post-primary schools at the end of 2025, when the application process closed.

“While the funding which has been drawn down by schools was primarily for the purchase of secure mobile phone storage solutions, it should be noted that the solutions selected is a matter for individual schools, having regard to their own circumstances, enrolment levels, and operational needs.”

All primary schools were asked by the department last summer to implement new policies that ban the use of, and access to, smartphones during school. 

• Jess Casey is education correspondent for the Irish Examiner