Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 1336: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been drawn to the fact that many primary schools here have had their National Education Psychological Service withdrawn this academic year; the number of schools affected by this decision; the breakdown per county; if the embargo on recruiting additional psychologists will be lifted in the near future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29325/06]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 1352: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the extent to which educational psychologists have been made available to primary and second level schools; the full extent of the requirements as set out by parents, teachers and school authorities; when she expects to meet requirement in full; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29489/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1336 and 1352 together.

It is important for me as Minister for Education and Science to reiterate at the outset of this answer that all primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are available on my Department's website. Schools that do not currently have NEPS psychologists assigned to them may avail of the SCPA, whereby the school can have an assessment carried out by a member of the panel of private psychologists approved by NEPS, and 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 prioritisation of urgent cases for assessment is a matter for the school principal in the first instance.

NEPS provides assistance to all schools and school communities that experience critical incidents, regardless of whether or not they have a NEPS psychologist assigned to them. Also, in relation to all schools, NEPS processes applications for Reasonable Accommodation in Certificate Examinations and responds to queries in relation to individual children from other sections of my Department and from the specialist agencies. NEPS also provides a service to children with visual impairment irrespective of the schools which they attend. The assignment of schools to psychologists in my Department's National Educational Psychological Service is subject to change for a variety of reasons, particularly at the beginning of each school year. A number of factors are taken into account and these include the desirability of providing a direct NEPS service to the majority of schools identified in the DEIS policy, the retirement and the resignation of psychologists and other management considerations.

Four psychologists from NEPS have been assigned to the recently established National Behaviour Support Service. These psychologists will be replaced from the current recruitment panel by the end of this year. Four newly appointed psychologists have been appointed in September to the Mid West region and one other to the South East region. These psychologists will be assigned to schools following an induction period of two months. A number of other appointments will be made a soon as possible. The range of coverage for schools in the school year 2006/2007 with a direct service from NEPS will be available in November.