Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 68: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of primary and secondary schools which are covered by the National Educational Psychological Service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27572/05]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 450: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of psychologists employed by the National Educational Psychological Service; the number of primary and secondary schools here; the number of such schools covered by the NEPS service, tabulated according to county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27817/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 68 and 450 together.

The complement of NEPS psychologists has increased almost three-fold from 43 psychologists on establishment to the current number of 124.

Schools that do not currently have NEPS psychologists assigned to them may avail of the scheme for commissioning psychological assessments, SCPA, whereby the school can have an assessment carried out by a member of a panel of private psychologists approved by the NEPS, and the NEPS will pay the psychologist the fees for this assessment directly. Details of this process, and the conditions that apply to the scheme, are available on my Department's website. The NEPS also provides assistance to all schools that suffer from critical incidents, regardless of whether they have a NEPS psychologist assigned to them.

On behalf of my Department, the Public Appointments Service has recently conducted a recruitment competition for the appointment of educational psychologists to the NEPS, with recruitment being targeted in such a way as to increase the numbers of NEPS psychologists in priority areas. Any increase in the number of psychologists in the NEPS must take account of Government policy on public sector numbers.

The information sought about the NEPS coverage of schools is set out in the following table.