Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 631: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if psychological assessments will be provided for primary school children who are on long-term waiting lists, under the National Treatment Purchase Fund (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12889/07]

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.

I am aware that the assigned psychologist has arranged a schedule of assessments with the school in question for the current academic year and I would suggest that if the school in question has particular issues in this regard they should be raised in the first instance with the assigned psychologist and/or Regional Director of the NEPS North-East Region.