Ivor Callely (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 537: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the waiting list and waiting period to avail of the educational psychologist's services in the Dublin area; the measures under consideration for improvements in the service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32951/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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NEPS does not keep waiting lists for assessments of children but in common with other psychological services encourages a staged assessment process, whereby each school takes responsibility for initial assessment, educational planning and remedial intervention, in consultation with their assigned NEPS psychologist. Only if there is a failure to make reasonable progress in spite of the school's best efforts, will a child be referred for individual psychological assessment. This system allows the psychologists to give early attention to urgent cases and also to help many more children indirectly than could be seen individually.

Children who manifest very special or urgent needs in school and who have not been previously assessed by a psychologist and are brought to the attention of a NEPS psychologist by the Principal teacher will usually be assessed by the psychologist within that school term. Normally, principals of schools prioritise those children in need of psychological assessment in consultation with the assigned psychologist.

Community colleges and vocational schools in the Dublin area have access to psychological services provided by the two VEC committees. In the case of schools that do not currently have dedicated NEPS psychologists assigned to them such schools have access to educational psychological assessments through the SCPA. Under this Scheme, schools can commission assessments from a member of the panel of private practitioners approved by NEPS, and NEPS will pay the fees directly to the psychologist concerned.

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. NEPS also provides psychological services to schools in Dublin for children with visual impairment and for children with hearing impairment.

Since the establishment of the NEPS in 1999, the number of NEPS psychologists has increased from 43 to 123 at present. Four psychologists have recently been assigned to the National Behaviour Support Service of my Department and my Department is currently in the process of replacing those psychologists from an established panel resulting from a recruitment competition of last year.

Development of psychological services must be seen in the context of all the initiatives and support services introduced by my Department in recent years, including the general allocation of resources to all schools, the DEIS programme, the establishment of the NBSS referred to above and the development of the NCSE (National Council for Special Education) and of the NEWB (National Education and Welfare Board).