Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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525. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department's Circular 0046/2025 still applies and remains relevant to the storage system to be used by schools for mobile phones; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55434/25]

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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526. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if schools that do not wish to avail of pouches for phone storage purposes can secure any other security devices/methods now available; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55435/25]

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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527. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware that a device (details supplied) in presently in over 50 schools in Ireland, the UK and the EU; her views on whether these systems constitute a more cost-effective method of securing students phones; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55436/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 525, 526 and 527 together.

The restriction on the use of mobile phones during the school day is intended to address growing concerns including the potential for distraction during class time, the risk of accessing inappropriate content and cyberbullying, and the potential for decreased social interaction with peers.

To support schools to implement this policy approach, funding of €9 million was allocated in Budget 2025 for the provision of mobile phone storage solutions for students in post-primary schools. Circular 0046/2025 issued to schools in June of this year, outlining the criteria, application process and terms of this funding.

This funding allocation, on a per capita basis, has been made available on application to post-primary schools that choose to provide an infrastructural solution to implement their policy. The per capita rate is €25 per student.

In accordance with circular 0046/2025, funding must be used for the purchase of secure mobile phone storage solutions, including, but not limited to, secure portable mobile phone pouches, locked boxes and other suitable solutions.

Under the Education Act, the Boards of Management of Schools have responsibility for the day-to-day management of schools. Where a school opts to use a particular phone storage solution to support its mobile phone restriction policy then the type of phone storage solution chosen is a matter for the school.

The Department also opted to establish a procurement mechanism for portable secure mobile phone pouches for schools, whereby schools can easily order quality equipment, with value for money through agreed pricing, delivery and warranty. A framework has now been established with two suppliers on it, to assist and enable post-primary schools to procure mobile phone signal blocking pouches. All relevant templates and guidance have been published on www.spu.ie .

Some 450 post-primary schools have now applied for funding (up to the end of September). Payment has issued to 417 eligible schools at a cost of €5.6m. Processing of the balance of those schools received is underway. The scheme remains open to new applications until the end of November 2025, with payments scheduled in October and December 2025.