Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In 2015, the HSE established a group to review the eligibility criteria for employment as a psychologist in the HSE psychological services. This came about in response to ongoing issues with the eligibility criteria for recruitment to HSE psychologist positions.

The review was completed in 2016 and made recommendations which have been accepted in full by the HSE. Both clinical and counselling psychologists are now eligible for employment across all four care groups. It was also decided to move the qualification requirement away from named psychology qualifications solely. Instead, a combination of qualification and placements or supervised work experience will be considered when determining a person's eligibility for employment. These criteria will come into effect in October 2019.

Existing psychologists will only be required to have completed additional placements if they wish to apply for a competition, for example, in respect of a promotional opportunity, from October 2019. It is intended that existing psychologists will be facilitated to acquire the necessary supervised work experience should they wish to compete in any future competitions. There is no compulsion, however, to complete placements or additional training to remain in existing roles. Anyone remaining in a role does not need to do any additional placement or training. The change relates to people newly entering a role or those engaging in promotional opportunities. We will ensure that existing psychologists will be facilitated to acquire the necessary supervised work experience.

The change comes about following on from a significant body of work that has been done and the view that we needed to move away from the qualification requirement only to look at the idea of a combination of qualification with placements or supervised work experience, all with the aim of assisting patients in the health service.

See this speech in context