Schools may use 'phone pouch' cash for other smartphone policies - Harris
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- Опубликовано: 6 окт 2024
- Schools may be permitted to spend the controversial ‘phone pouch’ cash on other smartphone use strategies, the Taoiseach has told Pat Kenny.
The €9 million spend on school phone pouches announced earlier this week has become a Budget 2025 flash point with opposition parties calling for the plan to be immediately withdrawn.
Sinn Féin has labelled it a “scandalous waste of money,” while Ireland’s association for school principals labelled it “unbelievable”, noting that there are dozens of better ways the money could be used.
On The Pat Kenny Show, Simon Harris said it is not true to say that nobody wanted the pouches - noting that no school will be “forced or compelled” to introduce them.
He said any school that has a better way to use the money to cut out mobile phone use in class will be listened to.
“It's not true to say nobody wanted them and in fact, there's many, many, many school principals and others who've been on the airwaves saying, we've been doing this in our school and it works really well,” he said.
“There's no school in Ireland going to be forced or compelled to take a pouch."
He said the move offered schools a “dedicated fund” to tackle mobile phone use - and those that do not want to purchase phone pouches will still be able to access it.
“I do think it is very important that we provide a degree of discretion and common sense to schools here,” he said.
“If a school has a better idea of how to spend that money in terms of social media or online media or mobile phones, I think we should be open to that conversation.”
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It’s not just Simon Harris, politicians in general lack credibility when they open their mouths these days. Harris uses the phrase “let me be absolutely cleat” inordinately and then proceeds to be anything but clear.
And RTE paid a price for their malfeasance; he gave them a c.€500m guaranteed funding. Great accountability, Simon.
In Turms of In Turms of as Mehole would say
Actually almost 9000 homes build when he was elected to the Dail, reason being in the middle of downturn ,IMF, and trokia were running our country at the time..
Simon,take the suit off,go back to school for a while and then give it a couple of years in the real world and see if it changes your opinion on anything but fine gael
Schools don't issue smartphones to children, why should they issue pouches for the phones? What next, earpods? Screen protectors? If parents want to buy a pouch, let them buy a pouch, not the taxpayer.
Smartphones being a 'distraction' in schools is a question of discipline. You don't fix discipline by buying future landfill from China. You fix discpline with rules and enforcement. Put your phone on airplane mode at the beginning of the day. If you get caught using it during lessons, you get detention, or have to write an essay, etc. Simple.
These pouches cost under 1 euro from China and some ministers relative has probably got the contract to supply 370,000 of them at 25 euro a pop. I see them on Aliexpress for 92 cent and that's not even with a bulk order! The fact they try to pull this scam immediately after the bicycle shed fiasco shows how little regard they have for the intelligence of the voters.
So just as I thought this is a waste of money but this is money they are getting rid of from the Apple incident......jeez there is no brains in them at all is there .......
Ya some of d cronies are rubbing their greasy hands together another government fiddle
Name the minister! Don't think that we you can get away with, "some ministers relative" name please.
Agree, 100% with you.
Bike shed, security hut, bus shelter in Leitrim, pouches for phones.
I don't understand what will a pouch do for a child's phone sure I can buy a pouch for 5 to 10 euro .......I don't understand why is the government wasting money on phone pouches....... can someone explain to me what these pouches are .......and before someone says it no i do not live under a rock
Most phones come with a pouch .a dustproof one and most are thrown away
They're cheaper than that
@@punchy1325 I know I'm just saying
Theyre saying that kids are distracted by phones, so they want to buy 370,000 pouches that block the signal... instead of telling the brats to turn them off which costs nothing
Will normas pouches stink after awhile. Ugggggggg
How about hiring more teachers instead of normas pet projects.
Hire teachers that will stand up against the indoctrination of our children.
Yerra we can afford 20 Million annually send to UNWRA. To pay Hamas schoolteachers
Housing for who irish people or immigrants
SELF ENTITLED INVADERS YOU MEAN!!!! 🌊🏴☠️🇪🇺🕳️💨
For taxpayers
@@GR-su3xcof what nationality?
That's twenty minutes I won't get back.
Most hated government in Irelands history
Objectively false.
@@Sdakouls3 Give them time
Wrong.
@@Sdakouls3 objectively true
@@richardshortall5987 get them out..not give em time
What did his Budget do the *reduce the cost of construction materials!!?* 🧐
Afterall, that has been their lame *"excuse"* for the extortionate price of all Houses, especially *their State spending* on the aquisition of the manditory proportional provision to Social Housing from ALL Housing Developments.
In Free Market GOVT does not regulate prices
Shouldn’t social homes for the 14,000 homeless in Ireland be prioritized over first home buyers and rental homes. ?????????
Social homes you mean County Council housing estates jeez most people don't want even live close to them.
Why should homeless people get homes ahead of people who have worked hard to save for a deposit? I'm not saying homeless people don't deserve help, because they do, but first time buyers are hard working young people trying to find some security in life. Why should they be overlooked?
@@Sdakouls3 because we are sitting on a $24b surplus that might never happen again. - so instead of letting the homeless rot on the street for another 10 years,! - We will instead let the semi secure middle class of first home buyers etc. sit on the back bench safety for one year, while we sort out this country for the right reasons this time. - THATS YHY. - its time for a change of government !!!!!
Harris is a complete wally and could not run a bath never mind a country
your killing me with this
I was born in Dublin's inner city in 1945 , We had No phones , we were lucky to have a radio in the home, but I had a Great Childhood Meeting my Friends outside, Playing outside, Growing up for the most part Outside . 9 Million Euros for Phone Pouches for Children to have In School ! This Government Needs To Cop On ! Seriously. They would be Far Better Off putting it towards Getting Doctors and Nurses to Man Detox Beds for Addicts to Help them to Come Off the Merry Go Round that they are on With Drugs ! Children I went to School with All them yrs ago, There Children are Dead, There Grandchildren are Dead and a Lot of Them Are Dead from Drugs ! Help Them To Come Off Drugs By Getting Detox Beds For Them ! The Inner City Has Suffered Enough Drug Deaths !
If €9m prevents us from having another generation of phone addicted zombies, I'm all for it.
This is ridiculous
Another easte of taxpayers money with no accountability with these clowns in government. It shows what a mess this country is in when we've somehow ended up with simple Simon Harris as leader.
I am worried about this suggested expenditure. I agree with schools having a total ban on mobile phones of secondary school students. However, it must be mandatory in all schools, or not at all. Otherwise, the minister will have, a them and us culture. Our school doesn't need this as our students are exceptional !!! Mandatory phone ban, or not at all.
What a waste of taxpayers money
And we know what little Pouch that money is going to disappear into don't we
I have a question - will these pouches be kept in a particular room [for safety] - and at the end of the day, when kids are lining up to collect their phones, sign them out, check that they were given the right phone etc... how long will this take?
Will a teacher be assigned to be Guardian of the Pouch? Will it be an 'a' or a 'b' post? How much extra will they be paid for doing this additional duty EVERY DAY?
Is he stopping in to the huge IPAS centre on the blessington road l don’t think he called in there
Waste of money those phone pouches.
Social housing, social control.
Which company has the contract for the 9 million euro school pouch’s…..following the money and the truth will be revealed
Its just laughable at this point 😂
So in 3 days it went from 'a key scheme to promote and protect the mental health of children and how dare you play politics with it' to 'yeah
...schools can do other stuff with the money'
Again, did schools just stop confiscating phones if they were used in the open? Because it was 2009 when I did my Leaving Certificate and they were doing that all through my time in school 😂
This is going to turn into something amazing 😂
Another load of rubbish,never a straight answer out of him, tax payers money is being wasted day after day on things we the taxpayer do not want it spent on, look after the Irish people first and stop wasting our money on bicycle sheds, security huts and now pouches. It's time for you to move on as you clearly don't live in the real world and haven't a clue what your doing.
The leader of our country going to the opening of a housing development, what a pathetic country we are.
Social housing for de taliban I suppose. How come de tents are gone from d4 canal but poorer co.munities have isis on their doorstep, must be a money thing. 😢 vote these effers out
One way to sort out the housing problem only one person can own one home.
Nothing more than to stop kids from talking photos of the books they arent allowed to take him abd get told to not talk about them. If anyone speaks like that to a child they are only up to one thing some kind of abuse
The Irish governbent!🤣
No we are a laughing stock in another country's
It's way past time to vote this rat out , & his buddies..
Just ban the phone from schools,,9 million help me with my electric bill
Going to see Biden, oh, what a joy. Please don't pretend that you can take Biden as a fully competent man, don't mind president. Strange, the most controversial issue wasn't mentioned.
TikTok Taoiseach with the emphasis on Tik…
They will turn bray into another blackbriggan.
No It will be Wonderful Socialist Utopia All needs attended to by friendly SF Commisar
U TURN - I'll vote SF for my kids and grandkids
My Grandparents voted SF in 1918 Look where that got us and they weren't even Commies at that time
Get ready for a cashless society... absolute control!
🔌
Are they for the Irish ,il be checking on them, to let people know,
Their making fools of us and we letting them