Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 312: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will review the cap on the number of psychological assessments available to schools, currently at three per year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35789/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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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). 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.

Under the SCPA an allocation of assessments is made annually to schools commensurate with 2% of its pupil enrolment and it is in the first instance the responsibility of the school Principal to identify and prioritise pupils for assessment under the process.

It should be noted that since the Government provided for a guaranteed allocation of resource teaching hours to all primary schools in 2005, the majority of primary school children do not now need psychological assessments in order to get extra support. Notwithstanding this benefit the level of assessments allowed to each school has not changed, allowing school Principals extra flexibility in the range of pupils that can be assessed.

In common with 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. 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.

It has always been the policy of NEPS, within the normal boundaries of finance and process, to endeavour to respond positively and flexibly to extraordinary need and circumstance as presented by school authorities on occasion and it is open to school Principals who have urgent needs for pupil assessment in excess of allocation to discuss the matter with the local NEPS Regional Director.

The Deputy will also be aware that since NEPS was established, we have trebled the number of psychologists in the service. Notwithstanding this and as I have previously announced my Department is committed to increasing psychological service staffing further, so that by 2009 there will be 200 NEPS psychologists. Current numbers stand at 138 and it is my intention to expand NEPS psychologist numbers to some 169 during 2008.

My Department remains committed to the development of a strong and robust educational psychological service serving the needs of all primary and post-primary pupils.