John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 496: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will authorise an educational psychological assessment for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41541/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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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.

The school of the pupil to which the Deputy refers has access to the SCPA and the prioritisation of urgent cases for assessment is a matter for the School Principal in the first instance. Should school authorities have specific difficulties in this regard I would suggest that they should contact the local NEPs Regional Director, contact details for whom are also available on my Department's website.