Vol. 552 No. 1
799 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason for the delay in arranging an appointment for a psychometric and attainment test for a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there is a charge of ?200 for assessments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11867/02]
The development plan for the national educational psychological service agency – NEPS – envisages that at least six educational psychologists will be appointed to Counties Carlow and Kilkenny. The current establishment is 1.5 psychologists. It is not possible at present to include the school attended by the named pupil in the list of those served by NEPS.
However, I am fully aware of the concern being felt by schools and parents who require psychological support before NEPS can extend to include their areas. Last summer I therefore announced an initiative whereby funding is being made available to schools to purchase assessment services from suitably qualified private psychologists. This scheme is known as the scheme for commissioning psychological assessments – SCPA. Details of this scheme were circulated to all schools and are also available on my Department's website. The school mentioned by the Deputy may avail of this scheme and NEPS will bear the cost of the assessment.
