Vol. 538 No. 1
214 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Education and Science the position regarding the provision of educational psychologists for schools in County Wicklow; if this service is available to schools outside the Bray-Greystones area of County Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17345/01]
Recent appointments of additional psychologists to the eastern – east coast – region have enabled NEPS to enhance considerably its service in County Wicklow. All primary and post-primary schools in the east coast region of the county have access to the NEPS service, with the exception of less than ten schools in the very south of the county. The service is also being offered for the first time to a number of schools in west Wicklow. More psychologists will be appointed to NEPS during the coming months. It should be possible during the autumn to extend the service to practically all schools in County Wicklow and also to decrease the number of schools assigned to each psychologist, thereby improving the level of service.
215 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Education and Science the position regarding the provision of educational psychologists for schools in County Carlow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17346/01]
The additional psychologists who have been appointed since September 2000 have allowed NEPS to begin the process of expanding the psychological service in the south eastern region. When all schools in County Carlow have access to the NEPS service there will be up to six psychologists serving counties Carlow and Kilkenny. All post-primary schools in County Carlow have access to the service provided by NEPS, but it has not yet been possible to extend the service to primary schools. I have been informed that NEPS is having some difficulty recruiting staff for certain parts of the country, including County Carlow. NEPS has therefore designated the county as a high priority for expansion, particularly for the assignment of staff due for appointment during the rest of this year.
Pending full expansion of its service, NEPS has been examining what alternative measures can be taken to respond to urgent requests for psychological assessment in individual cases. I recently announced the allocation of £1.25 million for NEPS to purchase private assessment services for schools that do not yet have access to its service. Details of the new initiative are being developed by NEPS and will be communicated to schools before the end of June.
