Minister for Education Norma Foley has said she plans to ask second-level schools to ban the use of mobile phones by students during the school day.
Earlier today, the minister told journalists: "I am now in a space where I'm saying, looking to introduce a ban on the mobile phone at post-primary."
A spokesperson for the minister said Ms Foley would be writing to schools in the next week or two "to give advice and guidance" around mobile phone use "and her desire to have a ban on mobile phones in place".
Ms Foley acknowledged that schools "are doing a huge body of work on the ground in relation to this".
"All of them would have policies in relation to appropriate use of the mobile phone. But equally so, I meet principals who tell me, the mobile phone, even though students keep it in their bag, the beeping of it is an interruption to study.
"It's a continuous hum almost in the background.
"I’m very clear that I think we need to establish in our schools a culture of non-acceptance of the mobile phone."
A spokesperson said the initiative will advise schools to prohibit the use of mobile phones throughout the entire school day. Some schools allow students to access their mobile phones at breaktimes and lunchtime. "However, going forward, there should be no access to mobile phones until the school day is over."
The new measures will ensure that schools are "phone free zones, giving students an opportunity to focus on their schoolwork, their face-to-face communication skills and their friendship building during school hours".
"Schools will have flexibility about how they implement the ban on mobile phones on their campuses in consultation with parents, students and staff."
The minister’s plan acknowledges that some students, such as those with diabetes, may have medical conditions that can involve the use of a mobile phone, and discretion will be allowed for this.
'Strict protocols' already in place - school managers
The CEO of the Joint Managerial Body, which manages the majority of second-level schools in Ireland, told RTÉ News that most post primary schools already have a ban on mobile phones in place.
"I am not aware of any school where there is not a ban on mobile phone use during the school day," Deirdre Matthews said.
"There are strict protocols around students who may need to have their phone on during the school day for personal reasons."
On the idea of a more overarching ban, Ms Matthews said: "Anything that is controlled by virtue of an absolute ban students will always find a way round that. They are inventive, but by and large students are cooperative with schools on this."
Ms Matthews also pointed to schools’ efforts to help teens and their parents regulate their phone use, with many holding training sessions for parents and raising awareness of the dangers associated with mobile phone use.
"The message for parents is that they need to be aware of what students are doing on their phones and also how they are modelling good behaviour themselves," she said.
Speaking at Ardscoil Rís in Dublin, Minister Foley said the Government has done a "huge body of work" around mobile phones.
"I've met with mobile phone providers, I’ve met with the social media platforms and we will continue to educate both at primary and at post-primary, but I am now in a space where I’m saying ... looking to introduce a ban on the mobile phone at post-primary," Ms Foley said.
"I think we’re very conscious of the world in which we live. All studies, including, for example the United Nations study last year, telling us that mobile phones interrupt learning in a school environment.
"Obviously they’re a cause of cyber bullying and we know too the conversation, the integration, the community of conversation that’s so important in school, is very much interrupted by the fact that students take out their mobile phones at different times."
