Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 491: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the extent to which educational psychologists have been made available to primary and second level schools in County Kildare and throughout the country; the full extent of the requirements as set out by parents, teachers and school authorities; when she expects to meet this requirement in full; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40619/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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All primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessment service either directly from the National Educational Psychological Service or from the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments, details of which are available on my Department's website.

In common with many other psychological services, NEPS operates a staged model of service to schools, whereby an initial referral usually leads to a consultation and provision of advice to teachers and parents on appropriate teaching and management strategies. Progress is kept under review and only those children who fail to respond to these interventions will need to see a psychologist. This allows the psychologists to offer early appointments to children who are in urgent need of support and early advice to teachers in respect to those children whose needs are perhaps less pressing but who still need additional help in school.

NEPS also provides support to all school communities that experience critical incidents. The complement of psychologists has increased from 43 on the date of establishment in September 1999 to 127 psychologists in November 2006. This includes 4 psychologists have been assigned to the National Behaviour Support Service. A further 2 psychologist are on career break.

Six (6) further appointments will be made shortly from the current panel organised by the Public Appointments Service. Recruitment from that panel, which established regional panels has facilitated my Department in to give greater priority in filling vacancies in areas of greatest need.

I am pleased to inform the deputy that the financial provision in the 2007 Estimates will allow additional posts to be allocated in 2007. I have yet to determine the number of posts. Decisions on deployment will be taken in advance of the recruitment process.