John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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83. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to effect a new circular to ban the presence and use of mobile phones by students in all national schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46327/18]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Decisions on the use of phones in schools are taken at a local level by the Board of Management of a school, who under the Education Act 1998, have responsibility for the direct governance of a school. In developing policies on such issues, including bring your own device and smart phone usage, Boards of Management should consult with the wider school community, including parents.

Earlier this year, my predecessor, Minister Bruton, issued a circular to all schools requiring them to consult with parents and the school community on the use of smart phones and digital devices in schools. This requirement will be underpinned in law once the Parents and Students Charter is enacted. This bottom-up approach will ensure all parents, teachers and school communities are satisfied with the smart phone policy in place in their school. It will also mean that parents will be able to adopt a complementary approach at home to that which is in place in their child's school, if they wish to do so.

My Department takes the health and safety of all children extremely seriously, and in that context, all schools are advised to have an Acceptable Usage Policy in place, which governs students’ use of the internet at school and covers a wide range of issues surrounding the rights, responsibilities and privileges – as well as sanctions – connected with computer use. A suite of information, including an “AUP Generator” to assist schools is available at . Information for teachers, schools and parents on specific technologies, including Smartphones and social media apps, can be found at and .

Under the Broadband for Schools Programmeschools are provided with a portfolio of network services including security and filtering of content.