The problem of disruptive behaviour in schools has many aspects which need to be dealt with in a co-ordinated manner through the development and implementation of good school management practice and prevention strategies and the provision of appropriate teacher and counselling support.
My Department's psychological service is available to schools to provide assistance and advice in dealing with disruptive pupils and to identify the appropriate educational interventions in each case. An Action Programme for the Millennium contains a commitment to set up a national psychological service. I have established a planning group to prepare proposals for the development of this service and I expect to receive this report in the next few weeks.
The teaching counsellor scheme referred to by the Deputy was introduced on a pilot basis in 1995 in selected primary schools in the inner city and in the Clondalkin and Tallaght areas of Dublin. Teaching counsellors assist in co-ordinating a whole school approach to devising and implementing good practice and strategies to prevent disruptive behaviour. A detailed evaluation of the teaching counsellor scheme is currently under way and I expect to receive a report on the outcome of the evaluation before the end of the current school year. Any extension of this scheme should be considered in the light of the outcome of the evaluation.