Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 93: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of national education psychologists employed in each region; the number of vacant posts in each region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13473/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The information sought by the Deputy is in the table below. All schools have access to psychological assessments for their pupils, either directly through my Department's National Educational Psychological Service psychologists or through the scheme for commissioning psychological assessments that is administered by NEPS. Schools that do not currently have NEPS psychologists assigned to them may avail of the scheme for commissioning psychological assessments, whereby the school can have an assessment carried out by a member of the panel of private psychologists approved by NEPS, which will pay the psychologist directly for this assessment. Details of this process and the conditions that apply to the scheme are available on my Department's website. NEPS also provides assistance to all schools that suffer from critical incidents, regardless of whether or not they have a NEPS psychologist assigned to them. NEPS processes applications for reasonable accommodations in certificate examinations.

The number of NEPS psychologists has increased from 43 on establishment to 122 at present. The Public Appointments Service recently concluded a new recruitment competition for the appointment of educational psychologists to NEPS and regional panels have been established to allow my Department give greater priority in filling vacancies to areas with the greatest need. My Department is currently in the process of recruiting a further nine psychologists, four of whom are being recruited for the mid-west, two for the north-west, one for the south-east and two for regions yet to be determined.