Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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99. To ask the Minister for Health when a child psychologist will be appointed to cover counties Laois and Offaly. [40396/20]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The provision of clinical posts including Psychology as well as other allied health professional posts required to meet current and projected need of children with disabilities is a priority for the HSE.

I have been advised by HSE Midlands Louth Meath team that there are a total of 4 Senior Psychologist posts in the Laois/Offaly area. One Senior Psychologist is currently on maternity Leave and the HSE Midlands Louth Meath team can confirm that the Senior Psychologist will return from Maternity Leave and resume their post on January 6th 2021.

There is a vacancy for 1 Senior Clinical Psychologist and the HSE advise that the recruitment process for this post is on-going. In addition, there are 4 Staff Grade Psychologist posts, all currently vacant where the HSE are currently in the recruitment process to fill one of these posts immediately and has plans to fill another two positions in the coming months.

In the meantime, in October 2020, the HSE recruited  2 agency Staff Grade Psychologists on fixed term contracts. These Psychologists will work on a team to eliminate the backlog for Assessments of Need in the area.

I acknowledge the strain that clinical staff shortages place on service providers and especially families and children with disabilities. I hope that the recruitment process will be successful and that the staff member returning from maternity leave will have a positive impact on service delivery, particularly access to early assessment and interventions for children with complex need.