Vol. 552 No. 1
763 Mr. Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Science if his attention has been drawn to the unacceptable delays in the process of the assessment of children in need of resource teachers and the negative impact this delay is having on disadvantaged students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11636/02]
There was a commitment in the programme for Government, An Action Programme for the Millennium, to the development of psychological services, including assessment services for those with special needs, for children and young people. The Government began to fulfil this commitment by establishing a National Educational Psychological Service agency on 1 September 1999. The development plan for NEPS provides for a gradual expansion until all schools have access to the service, with a high priority being given to schools serving disadvantaged children. The terms of the Government decision to establish NEPS outlined how this target would be attained over a period of years, with the number of psychologists increasing gradually to 200. Notwithstanding the time consuming nature of recruitment competitions for professional staff, the complement of the agency doubled from 43 psychologists on the date of establishment to 86 on 31 December 2001. In addition to NEPS staff, there are also a number of other psychologists working in the educational sector, bringing the current total to almost 100. The Civil Service and Local Appointments Commission is reaching the final stages of the current recruitment competition for NEPS. It is hoped that it will be possible to appoint more than 60 psychologists from this competition. Furthermore, the Government has given approval to an acceleration of the planned recruitment of psychologists, with a view to reaching the target number of 200 by the end of 2002, two years ahead of schedule.
I am aware that there have been delays in certain areas of the country in the process of assessing children with special educational needs and I am committed to expediting access to psychological assessments. As I announced last summer, I have made funding available for schools to purchase assessment services from suitably qualified private practitioners pending the recruitment of the full complement of psychologists to NEPS. The agency has issued details of how to avail of this scheme to all schools.
