‘We'll put an end to students doomscrolling on smartphones' – Tánaiste vows to get young people ‘talking and laughing' again
Phone pouches for schools are now to be joined by other forms of secure storage after a cabinet decision this week.
Funding of €9m was allocated in the last Budget for the pouches, which Sinn Féin immediately branded an example of government waste.
However, a central procurement arrangement will be put in place to enable nationwide phone bans starting from the next school year.
Schools can apply for funding support for 'phone-storage solutions', starting at primary school level, with post-primary schools to follow.
Examples of phone-storage options include pouches, lockable boxes, cubby holes and drop-off and collection at the school office.
'This is a pragmatic and sensible way to proceed,' Mr Harris said. 'I think it will be welcomed by school principals, teachers, boards of management and, I believe, young people.
'We need to look at what more we need to do to allow our children be children.
'We need to allow them to learn and be educated in a safe environment, with the sounds of young people laughing and talking to each other – rather than doomscrolling on their phones during the day.'
Guidance will soon be provided to all schools on putting policies in place to ensure they are mobile-free zones during the day. Students will be encouraged to disconnect and to learn, Mr Harris said. They could also 'make friends without the distractions that can arise from the use of mobile phones'.
Further guidance will be provided to post-primary schools, outlining the terms, conditions and mechanisms to apply for funding.
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Fine Gael TD Frank Feighan said it was also about 'how young people might be protected from cyber bullying in the classroom setting'. He said that in Northern Ireland the phone pouch scheme was implemented, despite some opposition. 'It is clear that every school is different and must be enabled financially to implement their particular strategy on the curtailment of the use of smart phones during class time,' he said.
A survey in 2023 of more than 1,000 school students, conducted by Studyclix, found that 83pc were worried they used their phones too much.
A total of 38pc said they used their smartphone for more than four hours per day, with 60pc within this cohort using them for more than six hours.
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