Vol. 507 No. 3
183 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will sanction the appointment of a psychologist to cover the remainder of the primary schools in north County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16828/99]
The psychological service provided by my Department to primary schools is still in the development phase. During the past year, this service was enhanced by the employment of a number of psychologists on short-term contract. Two of these psychologists have been assigned to a number of primary schools in County Kildare.
I am aware of the importance of schoolchildren having a readily available psychological service and the provision of this has been one of my priorities during my time in office. On February 11 1999, I announced the decision by the Government to establish a national educational psychological service agency. This agency will be formally established as and from 1 September 1999, and will begin to provide a service on that date. The process of recruiting additional psychologists for the agency has already begun. An advertisement for additional staff has been placed and interviews for the new posts will be held shortly. It is envisaged that all schools, both in County Kildare and nationally, will have access to the psychological service at the end of a five-year period and most will have access before that time.
