Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the current number of psychologists in the national educational psychological service at present and the number in 2009, 2010 and 2011. [48438/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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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 and paid for by NEPS. There are currently 169 psychologists employed within my Department's NEPS service (amounting to some 160.8 whole-time equivalents when working sharing is factored in). Employed numbers in this regard for 2010 and 2011 were 165 (158.9 w.t.e.) and 173 (166 w.t.e.) respectively. I can also inform the Deputy that an additional 8 new psychologists are currently engaged with the public appointments service with a view to their being recruited to NEPS in the current academic year.