The pouches would be used to assist schools in remaining phone free.
The Sinn Fein leader has written to the Taoiseach demanding an immediate withdrawal of the €9 million proposed spend on pouches for phones in schools.
Mary Lou McDonald says it's "a scandalous waste of public money at a time when so many schools are struggling to keep the lights on".
In the Dáil, the Finance Minister Jack Chambers defended the plan as being good for children's mental health.
Sinn Fein Longford Westmeath TD, Sorca Clarke, says we need to invest in our education system - not on vanity projects:
Minister Chambers says the initiative is something parents want:
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