The pouches offer an opportunity to continue what has been a profitable line of attack over Government profligacy
At less than 0.001 per cent of a budgetary package totalling more than ¤100 billion, the proposal to fund the purchase of pouches for schools seeking to restrict phone use must have seemed politically innocuous when it was proposed by Minister for Education Norma Foley. But the €9 million allocated to the scheme has taken up a
The disruption to education caused by smartphones and the more complex question of their impact on the mental health of young people have been the subject of considerable debate in recent years. Many schools have already introduced bans on phone use on their premises. Some use the pouches, which lock the phone away from use during school hours. Others just insist that phones be switched off and put away.
Nevertheless, the enthusiasm with which some Opposition parties seized on the issue suggests a touch of desperation. It is a difficult week for them, as they struggle to land an effective blow in the wake of a giveaway Budget. . For Sinn Féin such tactics are not risk-free. Revelations that the Northern Ireland Executive had launched a very similar pouch scheme on a pilot basis rather undercuts the outrage being expressed by the party south of the Border.Vast city’s museums cast light on Sino-America relations and how they souredA History of Ireland in Ten Body Parts: Fascinating, surprising and at times titillating
As for the pouches themselves, opinion is divided over their effectiveness. Ultimately, if there is to be real change in how society treats mobile phone use, it should come from adults changing their behaviour. TDs might consider that fact as they slouch, aimlessly scrolling, during debates in the Dáil.
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