Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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280. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 841 of 18 March 2026, which was unanswered in the reply provided, when a NEPS assessment will be made available to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23418/26]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Where a parent has a concern regarding their child’s progress, they should, in the first instance, discuss this with the school principal or the child's teacher. As a school-based service, requests for NEPS involvement must be made by the school principal or other designated staff member.

NEPS encourages schools to support children and young people using the Continuum of Support, whereby school staff use a problem-solving approach employing evidence-informed interventions for children and young people with learning, emotional or behavioural difficulties. The response to intervention is then monitored and recorded in the Student Support File. The teachers, parents and child are involved in this process. This model means that a child or young person does not need a diagnosis of a disability in order to access additional supports in school.

If a school has concerns that a child or young person is not making reasonable progress following evidence informed support and intervention, the school may prioritise the involvement of NEPS to support the identification of need process. NEPS does not maintain waiting lists. Where a school temporarily does not have an assigned psychologist due to a vacancy, it continues to have access to a range of NEPS services including the NEPS Advisory Support Line. This line provides access for schools to support and advice from a Senior Educational Psychologist in NEPS via a designated phone line.