Norma Foley vows to bring in laws to ban smartphone sales to under 13s if required

Education Minister Norma Foley has vowed that she will bring in legislation to ban the sale of smartphones to children under the age of 13 if it is required.

She made the announcement as Vodafone, Three, Eir, Tesco Mobile, Virgin Media and An Post Mobile all announced they are backing her 'keep childhood smartphone free' plan. The Government has been on a mission to prevent children in primary schools from getting smartphones.

At a press conference at Government Buildings on Wednesday, Minister Foley said that while most operators have a policy not to sell smartphones to children under 13, she will legislate to ban sales if necessary.

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“[Phone companies] have indicated that it is their policy that they would not sell mobile smartphones to over 13s,” she explained.

“We’re asking that that would be enacted by them and that they would have a raised consciousness around that. But I've always been very clear that perhaps one of the key issues, really, is the purchase of smartphones by adults for children. That's the thing and that's why getting the information out is so important.

“We need adults to make the informed decision. We also know as well that it's an adult purchasing the smartphone, and if that's not the case, it's an adult handing on their smartphone when they get an upgraded phone themselves. We're very much so in the space of education. We're very much still in the space of collaborative, co-operating working with adults, parents and guardians to make better-informed decisions.”

Asked if she would be willing to introduce legislation to restrict phone companies from selling phones to parents or children, Ms Foley stated that all options are on the table.

She continued: “I've always been very clear, if that's a step that we have to take, then that’s the step we have to take and we will take it. But I think the first step must be informed decision-making. When people speak of bans and all of that, bans work when people understand why they should work.

“People reference other bans that were brought in from a health point of view and everything else, they worked and were enforceable because people had sufficient information and understanding of why they needed to work. As a department of education, we're in the space of ensuring that that information is out there.

Multiple mobile phone operators are backing the plan to 'keep childhood smartphone free'
(Image: Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)

“We now have the endorsement of the mobile phone operators. I think that is enormously significant that they're stepping forward and saying, 'Yes, there's an issue here. And yes, we will support it and the work that you choose to do - with parents, with students and with young people - we will support that’.

“We're in the space of education, you're taking it step by step. But ultimately, we will do what needs to be done.”

Vodafone, Three, Eir, Tesco Mobile, Virgin Media and An Post Mobile announced they are backing her 'Keep Childhood Smartphone Free' guide for parents and parents’ associations of primary school-age children. The guidelines provide advice for the setting up of voluntary agreements between parents to avoid buying smartphones for their children while in primary school.

The Minister said that many schools and parents across the country have led on the initiative, with many deciding not to buy their children phones.

Ms Foley continued: “We know the issues that are out there. We hear it, not just in this country, but internationally in terms of children having access to online content that no parent would want them to see. No parent or guardian would allow a stranger to come into their home and have unsupervised access to their child. Yet that's exactly what's happening via the mobile phones, the smartphones.

“We're aware also of young people who are, you know, being groomed via smartphones, young people who are being exploited via smartphones. There are very young children - six, seven and eight years of age. It will take a village to tackle this issue.”

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