Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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272. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of clinical psychologist courses and places that are currently in the third level educational system; and what plans are in place to increase this number. [21499/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Ensuring a pipeline of qualified graduates to meet the mental health needs of adults and children is a priority for this Government. There are three main disciplines of Psychology; Clinical, Counselling and Educational, all of which require a level 10 PhD to meet professional standards to practice. Five Universities in Ireland provide Clinical Psychology programmes at level 10 with approximately 55 graduates per year.

As part of Budget 2023 the Department of Health secured funding to provide sponsorship for Clinical and Counselling trainee Psychologist PhD programmes. This arrangement is a matter for the Department of Health and the HSE, as the employer. The Department of Education are also engaging in increased student intake for Educational Psychology programmes, providing their own sponsorship programme via the National Educational Psychology Service (NEPS).

Enhancing student capacity in a sustainable manner to meet projected workforce demand is a critical consideration of workforce planning and is key to enabling further expansion on these programmes. Practice education placements are essential to support clinical skills development and the application of theory to patient care and attainment of regulatory required standards of proficiency where applicable.

Engagement is ongoing between officials in my Department and officials in the Department of Health, as well as the HSE, CORU and the higher education sector. Work is underway on the oversight and infrastructure for clinical placements to enable further expansion.