The €9 million allocated in the budget for the purchase of mobile phone pouches for schools has been described by Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon as a scandalous waste of money.
Deputy Gannon, who is the party’s education spokesperson, said:
“With schools around the country struggling to pay their bills or for basic classroom materials due to shortfalls in capitation funding, it beggars belief that the Government should squander millions on phone pouches.
“Yet again, we see the Minister for Education’s pet project taking precedence over more pressing matters, such as the teacher recruitment crisis.
“There was nothing in yesterday’s budget to address this issue, which is forcing some schools to limit the number of subjects they can teach or take special education teachers away from their core roles to fill staffing gaps.
“There are plenty of other areas where the €9 million for phone pouches could be better spent, including increased investment to reduce class sizes in primary schools along with the recruitment of additional teachers and SNAs.
“While a ban on mobile phones in schools sounds good in principle, it should not be this Government’s priority when it comes to fixing our education system.”
October 2, 2024