Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy McDonald for raising this issue. I will make a number of points. First, when the Deputy talks about the state of our economy in terms of the use of taxpayers' money, she leaves out a number of facts. She leaves out the fact that this is a country running a budget surplus and that we have managed to put aside billions of euro to protect people from future economic shocks. That decision is looking even better today than it was yesterday in light of global issues. The Deputy forgets that we are able to give people back some of their own money as well. I look forward to debating this Government's record on managing our economy and the public purse versus Sinn Féin's policy of spending it all and leaving nothing for the buffer times or if there is any transatlantic trade shocks, a policy which, quite frankly, looks utterly foolish and ridiculous today.

My second is that the issue of phone pouches was not invented in the Department of Education, in government or by any political party. This came about by listening directly to school principals. I am sure that Deputy McDonald, like me, listens to the radio and I am sure she heard the students on "Morning Ireland" a couple of days back after this announcement talking about the benefit they have found from these pouches. I am sure the Deputy has met school principals, including the principal of De La Salle College in Churchtown which introduced these self-locking pouches after staff reported an increase in disruption and how time-consuming it was. The principal highlighted how this initiative had improved the social skills of the students and had seen an increase in participation in extracurricular activities.

This is a Government that is listening. Deputy McDonald talks about listening and how important it is to listen to people on the front line. We have listened to school principals, teachers and students. We have had feedback from many students - I am sure they will be in touch with the Deputy today - in schools that have benefited from this initiative. That is where the idea came from. This is not an obligatory or mandatory measure. Nobody is going to demand that schools take school pouches. If a school wants to avail of this, it will cost about 20 quid per student. That is a €20 investment in the mental health and well-being of a student.

Please do not say to me that it is in any way insulting to link this to mental health. It is not me linking it to mental health; it is the young people themselves. This is about a Government listening and responding because right across the country, different schools have tried different initiatives to deal with smartphones. Deputy McDonald is right that some schools have adopted the suggestions she made, while other schools have tried different approaches. It is important that we help and assist in that regard.

The next point I will make is this. Deputy McDonald suggests this all happened in isolation and it was the only investment in education when this Government has invested a huge amount in education, including in the most recent budget. We have allocated €12 billion to the Department of Education. This will help students, parents and education staff and it includes €51 million to extend the free school book scheme to students, benefiting 940,000 students. Sinn Féin called on us to increase the capitation rate and we have increased it from €200 to €224 per student in primary school and from €345 to €386 per student in post-primary school. This 12% increase will assist schools with increased day-to-day running costs because I know running costs are a real issue. In addition, we have provided €45 million in cost-of-living supports for all primary, special and post-primary schools in the free scheme to help them deal with costs. We have employed more special needs assistants, special education teachers and teachers in general.

The most breathtaking thing about Deputy McDonald's presentation today is that in Northern Ireland, where Sinn Féin holds the Department of Finance, it is rolling out a similar initiative and, you know what, it is costing a hell of a lot more.

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