Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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185. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there has been a decline of experienced psychologists willing to participate in the scheme for private psychological assessments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29750/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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My Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides an educational psychological 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 in the NEPS section of 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.

SCPA was established in 2001 to provide assessment services to school in advance of reaching NEPS agreed staffing levels to provide coverage to all first and second level schools. In practice, in the current year, SCAP is used in the main to provide assessment services to schools who do not have an assigned psychologist, who are awaiting the appointment of a psychologist due to a vacant post or whose assigned psychologist is absent due to maternity or long-term sick leave.

In relation to the maintenance of the panel of private practitioners which constitute the SCPA Panel a refresh process is undertaken on an annual basis which reconfirms the professional status of existing personnel and oversees quality assurance in relation to the professional qualification and suitability of new applicants wishing to join the panel. The process of entering the panel is, of course, a matter of personal choice for individual psychologists. My Department is not aware of any marked diminution in the number of experienced psychologists partaking in the SCPA Panel and is satisfied that all personnel thereon are properly qualified to undertake the educational psychological assessments requested. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.