Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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233. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department retains data on the number of private referrals made by schools to private psychologists, outside of the scheme for the commissioning of private psychological assessments, as operated by his Department, for the purposes of achieving a psychological assessment of the educational needs of students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20628/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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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). 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. While details of individual pupil casework undertaken by NEPS staff and assessments delivered under the SCPA scheme are recorded centrally within NEPS I must inform the Deputy that NEPs does not maintain record of assessments commissioned from any other source.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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234. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of psychologists that have been contracted by his Department under the scheme for the commissioning of private psychological assessments in each of the years between 2006 and 2016 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20629/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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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). 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.

For clarity psychologists on the SCPA panel do not operate under a contract for service with my Department. NEPS organises and moderates membership of the panel (to ensure that panellists are suitable qualified) sets the terms of engagement and advises schools as to how and when they need to access the panel. School authorities engage with panellists and schedule assessments.Schools then certify satisfactory delivery of the SCPA assessment(s) and my Department pays the panellists the fee set under the scheme.

I attach for the Deputy's information a count of the SCPA panellists paid by my Department for assessments delivered under the scheme for each year since 2006.

Number by Year of Psychologists paid for Assessments commissioned under the SCPA Scheme