€9m plan for phone pouches in schools 'a scandalous waste of public money'

Mary Lou McDonald wrote to Taoiseach Simon Harris on Thursday to insist on the 'immediate withdrawal' of the budgetary proposal 

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon has also criticised the phone pouches, saying that schools around the country are struggling to pay bills or for basic classroom materials.

Spending public money on pouches for mobile phones in schools is "scandalous", the Sinn Féin leader has said.

Two days after it was announced that €9m had been allocated to purchase pouches for students to put their phones in during the school day, Mary Lou McDonald has called on the Government to reverse the decision.