Cork schools get over €900k for mobile phone storage

More than €900,000 has been provided to 69 Cork secondary schools for pouches and other mobile phone storage solutions, the minister for education has confirmed.

The €913,600 total allocated to schools across Cork city and county equates to more than €13,240 per school.

In June 2025, a policy was introduced to restrict students’ access to mobile phones during the school day and funding of €9m was subsequently set aside in Budget 2026 for the implementation of the initiative.

Announcing the funding package, the then education minister Helen McEntee, said schools could apply for grants to implement measures such as pouches or lock boxes.

Scheme proved controversial

The scheme and funding attached to it proved controversial, with Aaron Wolfe, the principal of Coláiste Éamann Rís in Cork city, telling The Echo at the time: “There’s a million things schools need more than phone boxes.

“Schools have this problem sorted themselves, we already have mobile phone policies — mobile phones have been around a long time, so this is 20 years too late.”

Current minister for education Hildegarde Naughton recently outlined the Cork expenditure under the scheme in response to a parliamentary question from Cork North Central Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould.

Nationally, funding to the value of €7.1m was issued to some 519 post-primary schools at the end of 2025, when the application process closed, Ms Naughton said.

“While the funding was primarily for the purchase of secure mobile phone storage solutions, it should be noted that the solution selected is a matter for individual schools, having regard to their own circumstances, enrolment levels, and operational needs.

“This fund forms part of a broader suite of measures aimed at supporting student wellbeing, reducing distraction during the school day, and assisting schools in implementing their own mobile phone policies.”