Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 693: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if a psychological assessment of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick has been carried out; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19873/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that 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 on the Department's website. Where there is no psychologist available through NEPS, a school may access psychological assessments through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA). Under the SCPA, such schools 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. It should also be noted that in common with many other psychological services, NEPS 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. It is the responsibility of the school Principal in the first instance to identify and prioritise pupils for assessment under the process. The Deputy's question does not state which school the individual concerned currently attends so I am unable to advise on whether the school is covered directly by NEPS. Perhaps the Deputy might supply this detail to me so that my Department's NEPS service might make the appropriate enquiries in this regard.