Hollow praise from Minister Bruton
EDUCATION Minister Richard Bruton has praised schools for their ‘good work’ on the safe use of mobile technology – despite the Government’s failure to contact schools who have successfully introduced a smartphone ban.
‘There is a lot of good things happening too in schools and, just at this moment, we are consulting with schools about the safe use of mobile technology within schools and what we should do about it,’ he said. ‘We see some people are being particularly innovative in this area.’
Despite praising ‘innovation’, Minister Bruton and the Government failed to contact Terry O’Sullivan about the online safety policy. Mr O’Sullivan is the Kerry principal who received nationwide acclaim after agreeing a smartphonefree policy at his school in Blennerville.
This was a boost for the Irish Daily Mail’s campaign for a minimum age for smartphone ownership. It was also a blow to the tech industry apologists and political hand-wringers who claim such measures are unnecessary and unworkable.