Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

201. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of providing an additional 100 NEPS psychologists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17772/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I can inform the Deputy 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.

The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for a Partnership Government commits that we will invest additional resources in the National Educational Psychological Service to ensure earlier intervention and access for young children and teenagers and to offer immediate support to schools in cases of critical incidents. The Programme commits to bring the total number of NEPS psychologists to 238 from the current sanctioned limit of 173. Delivery on this commitment is underway in 2017 with an additional ten NEPS psychologists due to be recruited by the commencement of the new academic year.

In answer to the Deputy's particular question, the direct cost of providing 100 additional NEPS psychologists would be approximately €7.3m per annum.