Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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1325. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of psychologists in the National Educational Psychological Service and when this number will be increased. [33696/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The Deputy will be aware that my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychology service to all primary and post primary schools through an assigned NEPS psychologist and in some cases through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are on my Department's website. Under this scheme schools 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.

I can inform the Deputy that my Departments NEPS service currently employ 177 educational psychologists (168.1 whole-time equivalents). An additional recruit is due to commence on 20th September next.

I can also inform the Deputy that my Department, in conjunction with the Public Appointments Service, is currently engaged in administering a competition to establish new regional panels from which NEPS psychologists will be recruited in the immediate and medium term. The process is, at this moment, at interview stage and it is envisaged that the panels will be completed shortly at which stage arrangements will be put in place to recruit psychologists up to a level of 173 whole-time equivalents.