Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I will come to that. The Government is committed to increasing the number of NEPS psychologists to 200 by 2009. As part of this expansion, funding was made available earlier this year for 31 extra psychologists to be appointed to NEPS in 2007. In April 2007, there were 128 educational psychologists, including four that have been assigned to the dedicated national behavioural support service and the further education service. Since then, nine educational psychologists have been appointed. However, as is common with all organisations, some members of NEPS have retired or resigned, with the effect that the current complement of educational psychologists stands at 134. However, the Department has recently contracted a further five psychologists, with three due to take up duty later in November and one in December this year. Another psychologist will take up duty in early January 2008.

My Department had originally hoped that the 2007 vacancies could be filled from the existing panels. When it became apparent that this would not be possible, agreement was reached with the Public Appointments Service to conduct a new recruitment competition. As there has been substantial recruitment to the three eastern coast regions that serve Dublin and its surrounding counties, it was decided that the new competition would focus on the other seven regions.

An advertisement was placed in the print media and on the publicjobs.ie website inviting applications for the position of psychologists, with a deadline for receipt of applications by 25 October 2007. Approximately 120 applications have been received and arrangements are being made for short listing and for interviews.

The recruitment of educational psychologists can be a protracted one, given the limited number of people who have the required skills and qualifications. Applicants must have a recognised first or second class honours degree in psychology or an equivalent qualification, a recognised postgraduate qualification in educational psychology or a related field and at least three years' supervised postgraduate professional experience as a psychologist working with children and young people, preferably in an educational setting. Consideration may be given by the Public Appointments Service to a recognised teaching qualification and at least three years' teaching or related experience in the primary sector or in a relevant specialised role in the post-primary sector. As educational psychologists work with children, they are also subject to Garda vetting prior to recruitment.

To try to make sure the process is as efficient as possible, my Department has only allowed candidates to apply for a maximum of three regions in the latest competition. In previous competitions, candidates could apply for all regions and this caused further delays in recruitment as candidates turned down offers of posts in regions which they did not wish to accept even though they indicated a preference in their application.

The biggest challenge is persuading psychologists to work outside the greater Dublin, Cork and Galway areas. Candidates will only be given a maximum of five days to accept or decline an offer in order to ensure that the post can be offered to the next panel candidate in a timely fashion. I assure Deputies that the Government is doing all it can to fill the NEPS vacancies as soon as possible. It is expected that offers of appointment will be made to candidates in the first quarter of the new year. I do not agree with the proposal in the Private Members' motion to streamline the number of psychologists on the private panel. I believe that this would make the service less convenient for schools and restrict local and regional coverage.

The motion refers to the tragedy of suicides of school-aged children. I am, of course, aware of the serious problem of youth suicide and of the vital role that schools can play in its prevention. The Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy Devins, will outline in more detail how we are addressing the promotion of positive mental health for young people through programmes such as social, personal and health education and through the provision of extra guidance counsellors to schools.

The National Educational Psychological Service also has a role to play in this area. NEPS will shortly publish revised guidelines for schools on responding to critical incidents, which will outline preventive approaches that schools can adopt in creating a safe and supportive environment. It also outlines how schools can plan for crises. The advice and information contained in these publications is based on research in the area of critical incidents and is further enriched by the experience of psychologists and schools who have been involved in this difficult work.

NEPS psychologists offer assistance to all schools which experience critical incidents. This relates in the main to sudden deaths within the school system, where NEPS psychologists, upon request from school authorities, provide an advisory and support function for teachers to deal with the after effects. During 2006 and 2007, some 118 such incidents, including accidents, traffic accidents and killings, were recorded. In many situations, it involved two NEPS psychologists supporting schools for an average of two days input. I take this opportunity to sympathise with families and communities bereaved following tragic events. I also acknowledge the wonderful support given by schools to students, parents and indeed the whole community during such sad times. In many of these circumstances, the whole community turns to the schools for leadership and schools have responded in a most professional, ethical and sympathetic way.

To conclude, all schools have access to psychological assessments for their pupils. Those schools that are not yet directly served by NEPS psychologists can have assessments carried out by private psychologists and NEPS will pay for them. The Government is committed to increasing the number of NEPS psychologists. This is shown by the fact that the recruitment process is under way. We will continue to build upon the significant improvements that have already been made in supports for children with special needs in recent years through increased investment, additional staffing and an improved legislative and administrative framework.

See this speech in context