Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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252. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he will take to increase access to NEPS psychologists for schools in Newbridge, County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35614/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware my Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychological support to all primary and post-primary schools. This involves direct support in the event of a critical incident, access to national and regional support and development work to build school capacity to support students, access to a NEPS psychologist for responses to queries arising, and access to individual pupil casework via a NEPS psychologist or through the Scheme for the Commissioning of Psychological Assessments. (SCPA).

I can inform the Deputy  that following on from an increase allowed in the 2017 Budget that the sanctioned number for NEPS psychologists was raised to 184 whole-time equivalents of which some 177 w.t.e. posts are currently filled, with 7 posts vacant due to on-going retirements and resignations, etc. within the Service.  Even at this current level this represents the highest number of psychologists to be employed within NEPS since the inception of the service in 2000.

Additionally the Deputy may be aware that under the provisions of Budget 2018 I was pleased to announce that NEPS psychologist numbers will expand by a further her 10 posts for the 2018/19 academic year.

I can inform the Deputy that a national recruitment competition is currently in operation by the Public Appointments Service in conjunction with my Department to replenish NEPS Regional Recruitment Panels to allow for both the filling of the above-mentioned  7 vacancies and the expansion of NEPS number by a further 10 posts.

The schools in Newbridge, to which the Deputy alludes in her question, receive service within the NEPS Dublin Mid Leinster Region from the local NEPS Naas office.  The national staffing increases to date and in the immediate future are applied regionally according to relative needs and have and will allow for the deepening of service to all schools including those in Newbridge.