Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 348: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of psychologists that are currently employed by National Educational Psychological Service on a full-time basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26931/07]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 350: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of psychologists who were employed in April 2007; the number employed in September 2007; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26933/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 348 and 350 together.

As the Deputy will be aware, 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, such as the school to which the Deputy refers in the question, may avail of the SCPA and 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.

Since NEPS was established, we have more than trebled the number of psychologists in the service. We are committed to increasing its staffing further, so that by 2009 there will be 200 NEPS psychologists. The number of psychologists employed by NEPS in April was 128. Approval was given earlier this year to increase the number of NEPS psychologists to 158 in 2007. However, the recruitment process has taken longer than expected. By September this year, there were 131 psychologists in NEPS. This has since increased to 135. My Department has also agreed start dates for a further 3 psychologists, two of which are due to start with NEPS in December 2007 and one in January 2008. The recruitment process is ongoing with a view to filling the remaining vacancies as soon as possible.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 349: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of psychologists who have been sub-contracted to cover areas that are not serviced by full-time National Educational Psychological Service psychologists here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26932/07]

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). Schools that do not currently have NEPS psychologists assigned to them may avail of the SCPA and have an assessment carried out by a member of the panel of private psychologists approved and paid for by NEPS. According to my Department's records some 150 psychologists were engaged by schools under the SCPA in the 2006/07 academic year.