Phone pouches spark intense debate in last Leaders’ Questions

The Education Minister “misled” the Dail by not disclosing a meeting where she was given a phone pouch by a company executive, Sinn Fein has claimed.

The maligned nine million euro scheme to provide schools with pouches to counter mobile phone disruption was the focus of Sinn Fein’s contribution in the final Leaders’ Questions before the election.

The Department of Education has further estimated an additional 1.7 million euros in annual costs for the controversial school phone pouch scheme. The figure is based on an estimated 20% replacement rate for the pouches every year.

Sinn Fein finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said the price tag for the scheme was “craziness”.

He further questioned why Education Minister Norma Foley did not disclose to the Dail that she had been given a phone pouch by an executive from a company that manufactures the pouches during at the NAPD conference in October 2022.

He said: “I recently asked Minister Foley did she have any meeting with a representative of a company that produces these mobile phone pouches and on the Dail record she answered: ‘No’.”

“And it’s simply not the case, the meeting happened, a phone pouch was given two years ago.”

Mr Doherty said the Government’s narrative behind introducing the pouches is “as clear as mud”.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin told the Dail that the pouches have been found to be “transformational” for school life, while the Department has defended their introduction as “easy to use, cost-effective and better for equity among students”.

Mr Martin said Sinn Fein was “desperately grasping” for an issue to assist it in the election campaign, adding that smartphone use is the “public health threat of our time” for children.

He added: “The impact on children is horrific.”

Mr Doherty called on the Fianna Fail leader to address the matter of a meeting with the phone pouch company.

“You try to dismiss this as a non issue. This is a serious issue of waste of public money, a vanity project by a Fianna Fail minister who was extensively lobbied by an executive, who was given a pouch and who misled this Dail throughout the process.”

Mr Martin said Sinn Fein had introduced a similar scheme in Northern Ireland.

Mr Doherty protested this assertion, as the education portfolio is held by the DUP. However, the Tanaiste said Sinn Fein holds the Finance ministry.

The final Leaders’ Questions was marked by raised voices and repeated interruptions, prompting the Ceann Comhairle to appeal to deputies not to force him to call a suspension.

Sean O Fearghail said: “Can we maintain some sort of decorum? I know you’re all worked up and excited about undertaking the campaign, but save it for the doorsteps – and let us behave ourselves here.”

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns also used the final Leaders’ Questions as an opportunity to criticise the Government’s record.

Ms Cairns focused on the coalition’s housing delivery, accusing ministers of a “con” on affordable homes.

She said: “As we prepare for the election, people will be thinking about who they’re going to vote for, and I hope people will be wary of political parties who have a track record of broken promises.

“For example, in the last election campaign, you promised to deliver 50,000 affordable purchase homes after nearly five years of government. How many of them have been delivered? Less than 1,000.”

She added: “I want to say very clearly to those people, you’ve done nothing wrong. You’ve been failed by this government and by previous governments who have turned the housing crisis into a complete housing disaster and broken commitment after commitment.”

Mr Martin countered by saying “significant momentum” has built up on housing delivery.

“More homes have been completed in the last four and a half years than in the previous nine years combined, and we will exceed our Housing for All completion targets again this year.

He added: “And the pipeline is extremely strong.”

On her final day in Leinster House, People Before Profit representative Brid Smith – who is not seeking re-election – criticised the century of consecutive governments containing Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.

She further called on other opposition parties not “prop up these 100-year-old parties of failure”.

Marking the final day of the Dail term, contributors variously thanked the “community” and staff of Leinster House for their work over the last five years.

The general election will officially be called on Friday, scheduled to take place on November 29.