20 Jan 2025
The Department of Education has tendered for a provider to supply mobile phone pouches to students in post primary schools.
A tender published today calls for applications for a contract with an estimated value of just over €7.3 million to provide "secure mobile phone pouches to students in post primary schools".
The initial contract is for one year with an option to extend for a further year.
The tender follows last November's controversial Budget allocation of €9 million to support the provision of magnetic pouches to schools to prevent the use of smartphones by students during the school day.
The €7.3 million tender price excludes VAT. With VAT added, it would come to the €9 million announced in the Budget.
While Minister for Education Norma Foley called the proposal a positive and proactive step, opposition parties branded it a waste of public money.
Separately, the Department of Education has confirmed that research carried out in the run-up to the Budget announcement was limited to schools that were already using magnetic pouches or other "storage solutions" to prevent the use of phones by students.
Read more:Why phone ban can only be achieved with buy-in from studentsSF calls for immediate withdrawal of €9m phone pouch planMinister defends Budget spending on phone storage scheme
It confirmed that it did not contact any schools that had successfully banned smartphones without resorting to dedicated storage devices.
"The purpose of the contact with schools... was to understand better the use of storage solutions in turning schools into 'phone free zones’. To this end, the department made contact with schools that had such solutions in place only," it told RTÉ News.
A number of schools have successfully banned smart phones without the use of devices and relying on student self-regulation.
This week’s tender announcement gives companies until 26 February to apply for the public contract to supply phone pouches to schools.
The Joint Managerial Body (JMB) which represents the managers of secondary schools has said it is not aware of any education stakeholder body which had requested the phone pouch measure.
CEO Deirdre Matthews said: "While we welcome efforts to support schools in banning smartphones, schools should be allowed discretion to prioritise their own funding needs."
Pointing to complex realities facing many schools she said: "Schools lack certainty around annual ICT grant funding which they need to pay annual software licences and update equipment such as laptops.
"Smartphones are part of ICT and many schools have no other option but to use student smartphone in class because of the shortfall in ICT funding."