Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 96: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the reason a school (details supplied) in County Donegal has no access to the National Education Psychological Service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42432/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I can inform the Deputy that all primary and post-primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through my department's 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 and paid for by NEPS.

In common with many other psychological services and best international practice, NEPS encourages a staged assessment process, whereby each school takes responsibility for initial assessment, educational planning and remedial intervention. 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 also ensures that children are not referred unnecessarily for psychological intervention.

Should school authorities have specific difficulties with regard any of the foregoing or in relation to a specific pupil I would suggest that they should contact the relevant local NEPS Regional Director, for whom contact details are available on my Department's website.

The Deputy will no doubt be aware of the undertaking within the Renewed Programme for Government to an overall expansion of NEPS psychologist numbers to 210, currently NEPS staffing numbers stand at 157.

However I can inform the Deputy that my Department and the Public Appointments Service (PAS), following the organisation of a competition and interview process earlier this year, has put in place a new recruitment panel for NEPS. PAS is currently poling candidates for an initial intake of 22 psychologists which it is hoped will, following the required Garda vetting process, be available for intake into NEPS by years end or early in the new year. It is also envisaged that the remainder of the required intake, to the level of that committed to in the Renewed Programme for Government, will receive similar offers shortly thereafter.

The assignment of a NEPS psychologist to the school referred to in the Deputy's question is a matter for consideration by the relevant NEPS Regional Director and will be subject obviously to the availability and engagement of suitably qualified personnel in the above process for the relevant NEPS office.