Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 161: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the reason students studying for a doctorate in clinical psychology abroad are given financial assistance while those studying for a doctorate in educational psychology are not; and her plans to change this anomaly. [6998/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Health Service Executive (HSE) has the responsibility for determining the composition of its staffing complement. In that regard, it is a matter for the Executive to manage and deploy its human resources, including training and education resources, to best meet the requirements of its Annual Service Plan for the delivery of health and personal social services to the public.

The HSE has advised that it does not provide financial assistance for students undertaking a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology abroad.

The HSE's priority in terms of funding psychology training is to increase the supply of clinical psychologists within the public health service. In this regard the HSE provides sponsorship to a number of trainee psychologists to undertake a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology through one of the following four Irish universities: University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, University of Limerick, and NUI Galway. This three-year training programme may involve a clinical placement abroad which would be supported by the HSE.

The HSE is currently supporting upwards of 114 trainee clinical psychologists in the Irish universities. The objective is to reach a target of an annual output of 50 clinical psychologists per annum from the four universities.

The provision of additional educational psychologists is not a current priority for the HSE. However, I understand from the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) that there are currently some 127 educational psychologists employed by NEPS with plans, recently announced by my colleague the Minister for Education and Science, to increase the cohort by 31 in 2007. These educational psychologists are recruited from competitions organised by the Public Appointments Service. There is no requirement upon entry for candidates to possess Doctorate qualifications.

A number of educational psychologists within NEPS do undertake post-graduate or doctorate study annually and these receive support under the Department of Education and Science scheme for Reimbursement of Fees and receive the requisite support, in this regard, from the NEPS service.

In general, support for third level students is a matter for the Department of Education and Science and I understand that the Third Level Student Support Schemes were extended to provide maintenance grants to eligible students pursuing approved full-time undergraduate courses of at least two-year's duration (pursued in a university or a third level institution which is maintained or assisted by recurrent grants from public funds) in other EU Member States with effect from the 1996/97 academic year. The extension of the Schemes at that time did not include courses at postgraduate level and, accordingly, there is no grant aid available under the schemes for students pursuing postgraduate studies outside of Ireland.

Any extension of the current arrangements to provide for students pursuing postgraduate courses outside of Ireland could only be considered in the light of available resources and other competing demands within the education sector. At present, there are no plans to expand the provisions in the grant schemes in relation to postgraduate study abroad.

However, Section 21 of the Finance Act 2000, as amended by Section 29 of the Finance Act 2001, provides for the introduction of tax relief for postgraduate tuition fees paid in colleges outside of Ireland. This relief, which is available from the tax year 2000/01 onwards, applies at the standard rate of tax. Further details and conditions in relation to this tax relief are available from local tax offices.