Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Question 226: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his policy on reversing the cut to the number of psychologists in the National Educational Psychological Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11031/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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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) 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.

NEPS currently directly employs some 173 psychologists sited in 22 local and Regional offices countrywide and assigned to schools in their respective catchment areas.

I can inform the Deputy that preparations are in hand within my Department to replace psychologist staff lost due to retirement under current public sector reform arrangements.

In regard to commitments within the Programme for Government to further expand NEPS staffing psychologist staffing levels I will be consulting with colleagues within Government in relation to this and other such commitments with a view to the timing of the implementation thereof at which stage I will make public my Department's intentions in this regard.