Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Our sincere condolences are with the families and friends of the victims of the tragic crash of the London-bound plane from western India this morning, with 240 persons on board.

I also want to extend my condolences to Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh on the passing of her mother this morning.

It is my understanding that the proposal to provide phone pouches to schools across Ireland may not now proceed. Will the Tánaiste confirm if this is the case? If he can, will he clarify the €9 million allocated in the budget in 2025? The issue of the use of phones by students is a topic of wide debate and how young people might be protected from cyberbullying in the classroom setting. I admit it is challenging for school management. At least the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the previous Minister, Deputy Foley, were prepared to tackle this issue and, more importantly, provide resources from the Department's budget to tackle it.

Some were very critical of this scheme at the time. However, we discovered that the government in Northern Ireland implemented the phone pouch scheme despite some opposition. It is clear that every school is different and must be enabled financially to implement its particular strategy on the curtailment of the use of smart phones during class time.

A survey in 2023 of more than 1,000 school students, conducted by Studyclix, reported that 83% of students were worried that they used their phones too much and 38% reported that they used their smartphone for more than four hours per day, with 60% of these using them for more than six hours. I hope the €9 million will be used under a dedicated fund to tackle mobile phone use or overuse in our secondary schools. Some schools may still want to purchase phone pouches. They should still be able to access it. However, if other boards of management have other ideas, or a strategy, then it is important that the Government would allow for a degree of discretion and common sense.

This is a huge issue. Everyone, the boards of management, parents, teachers, principals and students, will work together to come up with a common-sense plan to address this very difficult issue.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising what he rightly says is a very important issue. I do not think any of us in our constituencies, communities or across the country have not heard from parents, teachers, boards of management, parents' associations and principals debating and grappling with this issue. Everything the Government wants to do in this space is actually about empowering parents, young people and school communities. My hometown of Greystones became one of the first parts of the country where the schools decided, of their own volition, to introduce a ban on smartphones in primary schools. It was really empowering because, all of a sudden, it removed the almost peer pressure of kids telling their parents they had to get a smartphone because someone else had one. All the parents came together and said they would not provide smartphones while their children were in primary school. This really took off and right around country now this has become the norm. The Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Helen McEntee, has taken a number of important decisions on this issue.

I want to assure Deputy Feighan the Government and the Minister are committed to supporting the safe and ethical use of the Internet by children and young people. Guidance will soon be provided by circular to all schools on putting in place policies to ensure schools are mobile phone-free zones during the school day and to support student learning by helping them to disconnect, to learn and to 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 for post-primary schools to apply for funding to enable them to purchase secure mobile phone storage solutions.

Funding of €9 million in total was allocated in the last budget for this measure. In the coming days, we will see a new procurement process published. This central procurement arrangement will be available to schools in the autumn of this year. This will not delay schools in applying for and accessing funding for phone-storage solutions. An application process will be open to post-primary schools soon and the issuing of funding will commence shortly thereafter.

Schools will now be able to apply for funding for whatever phone-storage solution works best for them. Examples include the pouches referred to by the Deputy, lockable boxes, cubby holes and drop off and collection at the school office. Whatever works best for the school can be implemented. The funding from the budget remains in place. A new procurement process will be published in the coming days and schools will be able to seek to apply to draw down funding and put in place the phone-storage solution that works best for them. This is a pragmatic and sensible way to proceed.

I think it will be welcomed by school principals, teachers, boards of management, and I believe, young people, in many cases. We need to build on this. Across Government, we need to look at what more we need to do to allow our children be children and to allow them to learn and be educated in a safe environment in which you hear the sounds and voices of young people laughing and talking to each other rather than doomscrolling on their phones during the day.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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This is a very important and sensitive initiative. I thank the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister, Deputy Foley, for listening to parents, teachers, principals and, most importantly, students. It is a pragmatic proposal. It is nice to see that, hopefully, the €9 million will be ringfenced to tackle this. As parents and, indeed, as politicians, we could take a leaf out of the students' book and put down our phones as well. Sometimes we spend far too much time listening to other people.

Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)
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We should get phone pouches for the Dáil.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Maybe we could use them in our parliamentary party rooms. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, for his assistance.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am not sure if the Deputy is proposing pouches for Dáil. It might slow down the dissemination of information from parliamentary party meetings to the fourth estate, which I am sure would significantly inconvenience some people.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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This is the kind of thing we have to listen to during Leaders' Questions.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The serious point the Deputy makes is entirely right. It is perfectly right that Deputy Feighan has a right to ask a question, Deputy Coppinger. That is how we work in this democracy. Our lads are elected too and they can ask questions in the Dáil. I thank Deputy Feighan for bringing up such an important issue that is on the minds of all parents around the country, the mental health and well-being of our young people.

In the time available to me, I want to return to the news of the horrific plane crash. Since we have spoken, it has become apparent that at least 30 people have died in a plane crash involving a plane from India that was heading towards our nearest neighbours in the UK, at Gatwick. I know the thoughts and prayers of everyone in this House are with all of those affected.