Minister for Education Norma Foley will bring a memo to Cabinet on Tuesday which will aim to encourage parents not to buy smartphones for primary school children.
The minister said the vast majority of schools, particularly at primary level, do not support the use of smartphones within the school.
“But I think the real issue is what happens after school. And given that we are in education, our focus will be on educating parents,” she said.
Minister Foley said the policy would seek to support parents in making a decision not to buy a smartphone for primary school children.
She said this has already been successfully implemented in some areas around the country where parents made a collective decision.
“We’re all very conscious that within the smartphone, children can have access to content that no parent would want them to see, whether it’s violent content, whether it’s online bullying, all of that,” she said.
