Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 505: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the average length of time to have an assessment carried out by National Education Psychological Service; the plans she has to reduce waiting times; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19691/06]

Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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All primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA) that is administered by NEPS and full details of which are available on my Department's website.

In addition, NEPS provides a service to every school in the event of a critical incident regardless of whether the school already has a dedicated service from a NEPS psychologist. Also in relation to all schools, NEPS processes applications for Reasonable Accommodations in Certificate Examinations and responds to queries and requests for assessments in relation to individual children from other sections of my Department and from the specialist agencies.

NEPS psychologists do not keep waiting lists of children requiring assessment in the sense of lists of names that are worked through in order. Each psychologist is responsible for a number of named schools, and visits each on a regular basis. The school authorities provide names of children who are giving cause for concern and discuss the relative urgency of each case during the psychologist's visits. This allows the psychologists to give early attention to urgent cases and such children will be seen or referred on in a matter of weeks, if not days. Where cases are less urgent, the NEPS psychologist will, as a preliminary measure, act as a consultant to teachers and parents and offer advice about educational and behavioural plans and monitor progress.

Since the establishment of the NEPS in 1999, the number of NEPS psychologists has increased from 43 to 122 at present. The Public Appointments Service recently concluded a new recruitment competition for the appointment of Educational Psychologists to NEPS. 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 9 psychologists.