Written answers
Wednesday, 8 October 2025
Department of Education and Skills
National Educational Psychological Service
Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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198. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the national educational psychological service withdrew a dedicated psychologist from two primary schools (detailed supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54012/25]
Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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199. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the national educational psychological service psychologist hours previously allocated to two primary schools (details supplied) were redeployed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54013/25]
Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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200. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason for allocating only one national educational psychological service assessment annually to a primary school with over 600 pupils (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54014/25]
Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 198, 199 and 200 together.
I thank the Deputy for her questions regarding service provision to specific schools by my department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS).
I would like to take this opportunity to outline the work of my department in this area more broadly and the role of NEPS. All schools have access to:
- a NEPS psychologist for general support and advice.
- support from a NEPS psychologist in the event of a Critical Incident.
- National and Regional Support and Development service for school staff, which is advertised through the Education Support Centres of Ireland and covers areas such as trauma informed practice, cluster group support for post-primary special education teachers and special class teachers, training for Student Support Teams and supporting reluctant school attendance/school avoidance behaviour.
- access to either a NEPS psychologist or a SCPA psychologist for individual pupil casework where a priority need is established. SCPA – the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments - is operated through the use of a panel of psychologists who must meet qualification criteria set by the Department. It is an interim measure intended to supplement the NEPS service and meet current urgent needs for psychological assessment of children and young people.
NEPS encourages all schools to use the Continuum of Support Model a continuum-based assessment and intervention process whereby each school takes responsibility for initial assessment, educational planning and remedial intervention for children and young people with learning, emotional or behavioural difficulties. Under this model, a child or young person does not require a psychological assessment diagnosis in order to access additional support at school.
My department is making every effort to recruit additional educational psychologists. Since January 2023, NEPS has supported bursaries for Trainee Educational Psychologists who are enrolled in the University College Dublin Professional Doctorate in Educational Psychology and Mary Immaculate College Limerick’s Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology. This has also been extended to students enrolled in the new professional doctorate in educational psychology in Maynooth University. Those in receipt of a bursary commit to joining NEPS upon graduation. There are over 70 Trainee Educational Psychologists in receipt of a bursary who are expected to join NEPS upon graduation.
The Public Appointments Service undertook a recruitment campaign for Educational Psychologists recently and successful candidates will shortly be appointed.
Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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201. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to review national educational psychological service resourcing and assessment allocations for large primary schools to ensure timely access to psychological support services for all children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54015/25]
Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for her question on service provision by my department's National Educational Psychological Service.
I would like to take this opportunity to outline the work of my department in this area more broadly and the role of NEPS. All schools have access to:
- a NEPS psychologist for general support and advice.
- support from a NEPS psychologist in the event of a Critical Incident.
- National and Regional Support and Development service for school staff, which is advertised through the Education Support Centres of Ireland and covers areas such as trauma informed practice, cluster group support for post-primary special education teachers and special class teachers, training for Student Support Teams and supporting reluctant school attendance/school avoidance behaviour.
- access to either a NEPS psychologist or a SCPA psychologist for individual pupil casework where a priority need is established. SCPA – the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments - is operated through the use of a panel of psychologists who must meet qualification criteria set by the Department. It is an interim measure intended to supplement the NEPS service and meet current urgent needs for psychological assessment of children and young people.
My department is making every effort to recruit additional educational psychologists. Since January 2023, NEPS has supported bursaries for Trainee Educational Psychologists who are enrolled in the University College Dublin Professional Doctorate in Educational Psychology and Mary Immaculate College Limerick’s Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology. This has also been extended to students enrolled in the new professional doctorate in educational psychology in Maynooth University. Those in receipt of a bursary commit to joining NEPS upon graduation. There are over 70 Trainee Educational Psychologists in receipt of a bursary who are expected to join NEPS upon graduation.
The Public Appointments Service undertook a recruitment campaign for Educational Psychologists recently and successful candidates will shortly be appointed.
Furthermore, my department’s Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice provides schools with a framework to support the well-being and mental health of their school community. This framework is founded on research and international best practice as to how schools can best support the well-being and mental health of children and young people. The framework encourages schools take a whole school, preventative, and reflective approach to school self-evaluation to identify and prioritise the needs of their own school communities in relation to the promotion of well-being and mental health
This framework encourages schools to:
- provide children and young people with opportunities to build core social and emotional skills and competencies,
- provide children and young people with opportunities to experience supportive relationships within the school setting and to learn through those relationships and,
- provide children and young people with opportunities to be part of a school environment and culture that feels both physically and psychologically safe, an environment in which children and young people feel a sense of belonging and connectedness, in which they feel their voice is heard, and they feel supported.
It may also be of interest to the deputy that, in 2023, my department allocated €5 million to establish the Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot, a pilot programme of counselling and mental Health supports for primary schools in 2023. In Budget 2025, the pilot received additional funding to further develop the programme. The Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot 2023-2025 consists of two strands. Strand 1 provides one-to-one counselling to support small numbers of children in schools in counties Cavan, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan and Tipperary. The Department of Education and Youth created panels of pre-approved private counsellors to provide counselling supports under the pilot. In October 2024, the department announced the extension of Strand 1 of the Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot to 61 urban DEIS primary schools in Dublin North City and Dublin South-West in areas with some of the highest levels of disadvantage in the State.
My department continues to review our overall approach to educational psychological support in our schools to support children and young people to reach their potential.
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