With the permission of the House I wish to share time with Deputies Feighan, O'Mahony, Stanton, Mitchell and Neville.
Psychological Service: Motion.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I move:
That Dáil Éireann,
recognising the lengthy waiting lists for psychological assessment in primary and secondary schools;
noting an increase of just 7 additional psychologists to the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, to date this year;
given the Government commitment in January to appoint 31 additional psychologists to the NEPS in 2007;
acknowledging that a large proportion of schools remain excluded from the NEPS system eight years after its establishment;
noting that a reported 23 school-going children died by suicide in the last school year;
recognising that many parents and charitable organisations are forced to pay for private assessments for children due to a lack of NEPS resources; and
considering that there is currently no dedicated speech and language service available within the school system;calls on the Government to:
immediately increase the number of NEPS psychologists to meet Government commitments for 2007;
streamline the organisations involved in delivering psychological assessments to schools to encourage a more efficient level of service;
extend NEPS services to all schools across the country without further delay; and
create a speech therapy service within the education system to cater exclusively for children and young people in need of this service.
I welcome the Minister for Education and Science to the House and thank her for taking this debate. Today and tomorrow we will discuss an absolutely crucial area of education, namely, the current shambolic nature of psychological assessment. I have brought this matter to the floor of the House as it requires urgent attention from the Government.
Despite promises by the Minister for Education and Science that a comprehensive schools psychological service would be put in place, eight years after the establishment of NEPS about half of all primary schools have no service while the number of secondary schools with a designated psychologist is falling. Our schools have one of the worst ratios of psychologists to pupils in Europe. Is there any wonder why we continue to hear about the appalling tragedies of young lives lost, broken or even ended because there is no psychological intervention? Having a proper psychological service is not a luxury, it is a basic necessity in modern education and the catch-up under way in Irish education leaves a lot to be desired.
The most basic requirement on the part of the Department of Education and Science where a child presents with special needs is to have that child assessed as soon as possible so that an individual educational plan can be put together for the child. That is not happening at the moment as students have to wait many years for a proper assessment to take place. If one speaks to school principals on a regular basis, as I do, the issue that is highlighted repeatedly is the appalling waiting time for psychological assessments. While the waiting goes on, the child is in a classroom setting, often disruptive and unable to contribute to the work of the class. The child's experience of education becomes a day-by-day frustration as deeper problems go unchecked within our school system.
This motion demands that the Minister for Education and Science gets to grips with this issue. She and her predecessors have had long enough to resolve the bottlenecks that have been evident in the NEPS service in recent years. She has had long enough to recruit additional psychologists into the service and roll out the service to all schools. It is time that excuses came to an end and promises were fulfilled.
If one looks at the NEPS budget for next year, what is proposed is a cut of 6% from the amount of money received this year. One of the few areas in the education budget where cutbacks are proposed in the context of next year's Estimate is under the national educational psychological service. How can the Minister propose a cut in a service where she knows that the demand exists and where she has failed to keep her pre-election promises?
Parents and schools are increasingly turning to charitable organisations to get their children psychologically assessed. The situation is so bad that the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has become one of the largest providers of psychological assessments. It is a disgrace that a charitable organisation has to fund the ongoing psychological assessment of children in our school system. Until September this year, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul funded at least 20 assessments every week at a cost of €320 per assessment, with between 600 and 1,000 children being assessed annually. Primary and secondary school principals from every part of the country regularly sought support from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for such assessments.
No doubt the Minister will say that the new protocol agreed between her Department and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is in place from September 2007 to January 2008, even though this issue first came to public attention last March or April. Effectively the Department has asked the Society of St. Vincent de Paul not to foot the Bill for these assessments. Because parents and principals are being asked to go directly to NEPS in the first instance, this will place additional pressure on the service between now and next January. There is considerable unease about the manner in which that protocol was negotiated between St. Vincent de Paul and the Minister's Department when the issue first came to public attention last March and April.
There are approximately 185,000 school-age children with disabilities and special educational needs in Ireland, including about 86,000 with mental health difficulties, 63,000 with specific learning disabilities and just under 5,000 with autistic spectrum disorders. Twenty three school-going children died by suicide last year, yet the Government has repeatedly broken its promise to provide an adequate psychological assessment service for our schools. Eight years after the psychological service was established, half of all schools still do not have a service to which to turn. There are 800,000 pupils in primary and secondary schools, but only enough State psychologists to assess one in every 50 children.
The number of psychologists working with the State service is 134. Where are the 31 additional posts the Minister promised last January? At the last count, she repeated that promise on 21 occasions from January to the general election. She promised 31 full-time additional psychologists to work with the NEPS service, yet only seven have been provided this year. That is a shocking indictment given the scale of the promises and commitments she entered into before the election.
Fianna Fáil's document, An Agreed Programme for Government, pledged 200 school psychologists by 2009, but how will this happen when the budget for 2008 is to be cut? At this rate the Government will miss its 2009 target and hundreds of school children will continue to go without adequate assessment.
When NEPS was first established, the former Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Micheál Martin, promised that within five years the service would have 200 psychologists. That promise was made in 1999 and is yet another example of the grotesque spinning machine that operates under the Government. It is typical of this Administration that promises are made and broken, without so much as an apology or an explanation, and become part and parcel of the way the Government does its business. When the former Minister made that promise of 200 psychologists by 2004, it was 200 fewer then the requirement estimated by the National Council for Special Education.
NEPS should be put on the same statutory footing as organisations such as the National Council for Special Education and the National Educational Welfare Board. That was the original intention when NEPS was first established, an intention fully supported by the then Minister, Deputy Martin.
Under the existing departmental guidelines only two children out of every 100 can be assessed each year. A principal recently told me that if there are 400 children in a school and only eight can be picked for assessment, one must choose the most severe cases. Effectively, that means that fourth, fifth and sixth class students are not given priority because that goes to younger children. It means children with real learning difficulty are going into post-primary education without ever getting treatment.
Little or nothing is done for the vast majority with a disability, which is estimated by the National Council for Special Education at 18% of children. They travel through the education system with little or no support and are often the first to fall through the system when they get to post-primary education.
When a student makes the transition from primary to post-primary education, pupils do not carry the resources with them. It seems crazy that an entirely new assessment has to be carried out, which in itself delays the resource response from the Department and makes life much more difficult for students and their families.
I recognise that the Department has introduced resources at primary level to deal with learning support under the general allocation model, which allows for a certain number of resource teachers for schools depending on their status as disadvantaged or otherwise.
However, at second level, the only way to get resource teachers is to have students formally assessed. Once they have been assessed as being in need of support, resource hours will be allocated, which places additional pressure on the NEPS system. Although it is clearly important to put significant resources into primary schools to ensure early intervention, many children do not receive the supports they need in primary school. The ASTI has highlighted that 40% of pupils who go forward for assessment are deemed not to be in need of additional supports because they are marginally above the cut-off point for assistance. These children then progress through school without additional help because the assessment process has essentially ruled them out of even before they have started.
Teachers do not receive the in-service training required to cope with children in need of learning support. Additional training was supposed to be provided to coincide with the introduction of the EPSEN Act 2004 but neither the Act nor the training programme has been implemented in schools, despite the NCSE publishing recommendations in October 2006 on how the Act should be implemented. I am aware in recent weeks of a proposal from third level colleges where psychological assessments of not less than three years old, of any applicant with dyslexia or other learning difficulty who has applied to obtain a college place, must take place. Requiring students with a specific learning difficulty to furnish psychological assessments carried out in the past three years to support their college application puts even more pressure on them and the NEPS. Almost 2,000 of the 60,000 applicants for CAO courses last year were students with physical or learning difficulties.
The Minister will claim schools that do not have recourse to a dedicated psychologist and are outside the NEPS system can obtain support through the scheme for commissioning psychological assessments, SCPA. A panel of private psychologists is provided for schools but the restrictions on the number of assessments that can be carried out in any year means that the number of children waiting for assessment grows and grows. Recently I was informed by the Minister, by way of a reply to a parliamentary question, that fewer private psychologists were available to carry out assessments now by comparison with the start of the year. The rate of payment for assessments under the SCPA has not increased since 2001, an issue that has been repeatedly brought to the Minister's attention.
While the NEPS psychologists provide not only assessments, but also support and development in schools, private psychologists simply carry out an assessment. The automatic follow-up provided for under the NEPS model does not apply. There is evidence that not only are psychologists pulling out of the scheme, but also that some are taking the minimum number of assessments in order that they can remain as NEPS approved psychologists. Schools report that since the fee paid to them by the Department has not been increased, SCPA psychologists are negotiating with schools and completing two assessments in the time it would normally take to do one. This rules out proper briefing time with parents and teachers, with the result that the child does not obtain the service needed to support him or her in the school system.
Attracting new psychologists into the NEPS requires not only funding but also proper planning to deliver sufficient college places for those likely to be employed by the State. One of the main difficulties with recruitment of suitably qualified psychologists is the lack of graduates. Approximately eight educational psychologists graduate from UCD every year, with a similar number qualifying from Queens University Belfast. The Government and the Department are not doing enough to provide more places for psychologists at third level, which is clear because the demand cannot be met.
I will return to this issue tomorrow evening. The current system is shambolic and the Minister must be held accountable for not delivering on her promises. Children's lives are being destroyed by a failure to carry out assessments. That is what the motion is about.
I support the motion because more educational psychologists are needed. The recent debacle concerning the withdrawal and restoration of the NEPS to 29 schools raises deeper issues. It is positive that psychologists have been appointed but the Minister has adopted a ham-fisted approach. Not enough is being done to provide a secure future for children at risk. When the NEPS was set up in 1999, the then Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Martin, stated 200 psychologists would be appointed within five years. There was cross-party support for this but the number of psychologists has never exceeded 130. The result is that young vulnerable people are very exposed. Primary and post-primary schools need psychological services. Government policy which opposes giving the NEPS a statutory footing is inexplicable. This issue must be resolved.
I attended a meeting on child care ten days ago and one woman made a wonderful speech highlighting the value for money achieved through child care. Her point was that if money was invested in caring for our children and providing them with a good education, fewer of them would engage in criminal activity. Most young detainees have mental disorders and mentally ill children fuel a lifetime cycle of crime and violence. Value for money can be achieved. It is a crying shame that the issue has not been addressed. I am concerned that with the proposed cutbacks, it may not receive the attention it deserves. The motion has been tabled to highlight this serious situation and ensure appropriately funding is provided.
Research has found that eight out of ten boys incarcerated in detention schools have at least one psychological disorder and, on average, three. They are plagued by mental health problems and many are addicted to alcohol and drugs, including cannabis and cocaine. One in five under age criminals is intellectually disabled. If the appropriate assessments were carried out, vulnerable young people could be caught early. A potential crime spree could be curbed as a result. The children concerned are the tip of the iceberg but once they have been detained for committing a crime, it is too late. Psychological assessments should be carried out when they are in school.
Good work has been done by my colleague, Deputy Neville, on suicide, youth suicide in particular. Various groups provide ASIST courses. However, more funding for psychologists could curb the ever increasing problem of youth suicide. The NEPS addressed more than 100 critical incidents in schools in 2006 and 2007. It is estimated Ireland has the seventh highest rate of youth suicide in the European Union. Parents, siblings, teachers and friends of youth suicide victims participate in ASIST courses and they all ask themselves whether they could have done anything else. If more psychologists were available in schools, they would have provided a great deal of help and eased much pain.
I compliment Deputy Hayes on tabling the motion and the Fine Gael Party for giving priority to school children and their special needs which are not being catered for by the education system. I speak on this motion having been in the front-line of the teaching profession for many years and having experienced at first hand the frustrations of principals, teachers and parents at the inability to get access to help that is so badly needed by students to give them a chance to keep pace with the system. If they get access to that system, the recommendations made are often either, at worse, refused or, at best, cut back. On the positive side, I have seen the progress students can make when early intervention occurs. I have seen students who began school with great difficulties end up with masters' degrees as a result of the help they received at an early stage.
The other side of the coin, unfortunately, is much more prevalent in classrooms throughout the country because of the under-resourcing and shortage of psychologists to make vital assessments specifying the help students need. As a teacher I have witnessed at first hand what happens in these cases. All the pupils in the class are affected. This is an important point. Students with special needs fall further and further behind. The brighter students are also affected because their progress is restricted. Class discipline becomes a problem and the teacher is helpless to deal with the position because he or she does not have any in-service training to deal with the special needs provisions. There is also a major deficit in the allocation of resource teachers particularly in second level schools.
Many schools are not covered by NEPS. The schools that are covered are restricted in the number of assessments they may receive each year depending on their status as disadvantaged or otherwise and also on the number of the pupils at the school. These criteria are simply not acceptable and action is needed by the Minister to make appointments she promised at the beginning of the year. The psychologists who are in place find themselves in an impossible position. Some of them cater for up to 15 schools. They cannot spread themselves in all directions.
A number of other important points need to be made. In recent days I met parents who had to seek private assessments for their children because this service was not available through the system, but to add insult to injury their children were not given the help recommended in the assessments they received. In one case, the special educational needs organiser gave one and a half hours tuition when three hours were recommended. Who is accountable for this? A laptop was recommended in another case but was refused. One-to-one help was specified as necessary in another case, yet three or four pupils with different needs were grouped together, one had dyslexic difficulties, another had ADHD and another had numeracy problems. What will be the rate of progress in that group? The answer is fairly obvious.
I spoke to a school principal yesterday who still cannot obtain an assessment for a second year student as we approach Christmas, even though the student has been in second level for up to 15 months. The system is in disarray and the sooner that is acknowledged, the better because it is only then that we can begin to find a solution.
NEPS was introduced seven or eight years ago. If it was implemented and resourced properly, the number of assessments required at second level should be on the decrease because students' special needs should be picked up at an earlier stage in the primary system. We all know that the need for these assessments is increasing, as are parents' frustrations with not getting them for their children.
How is a school principal expected to adhere to the EPSEN Act and the Disability Acts if the necessary backup is not provided under NEPS? I strongly commend the motion to the House.
This topic is most important. I hope the Minister will not be in denial of what it proposes, tell us that all is well and give us a litany of statistics of the hundreds of millions of euro that have been spent here, there and everywhere. That will not wash anymore.
It was stated by colleagues that early intervention is crucial. Issues such as ADD, ADHD, dyspraxia, dyslexia, autism, Asperger's syndrome, depression or other mental health issues, family problems, abuse problems, drug and alcohol issues, behavioural problems, including bullying in the classroom on which we had a debate last year and about which teachers are concerned, demand the intervention of trained psychologists. Teachers cannot be expected to cope on their own, yet more than half our schools do not have the support of a psychological service. The Minister will say there is a system for commissioning psychologists. While that is all very fine, I put it her that system is for commissioning assessments. According to the NEPS website, its mission is to support the personal, social and educational development of all children through the application of psychological theory and practice in education, having particular regard for children with special educational needs. In other words, all schools in the State should have the support of a psychological service and not only an assessment service. NEPS website has links to information for parents, etc. but that is not enough. Every school should be visited by a trained psychologist a number of times a year not only to carry out assessments but to speak to and support staff, students and management in the work they do. Psychologists should not only take fire brigade action. That is important. Many colleagues will speak about the serious major issues in schools but we need to go beyond that. We need to examine the vital support that a properly resourced psychological service can provide to schools.
Another aspect of this issue, which does not come under the Minister's remit but comes under the Government's remit, is the adolescent and psychological service provided by the HSE. I was advised recently that in the HSE southern region children can wait up to two years for an assessment. Children are sent for assessment to the HSE and parents are told their children are on a routine waiting list. One young boy was diagnosed with ADHD a number of years ago. His GP said his behaviour is getting progressively worse. He is out of control, he rarely sleeps, he has no sense of danger and is quite violent towards his family. His tantrums have left his home in uproar and are having a serious impact on his schooling. His teacher is worried about his behaviour in the classroom and towards other children. His concentration is extremely poor and he needs constant attention in the classroom. He was placed on the HSE waiting list in May 2007. Despite the severe nature of his case I was advised by the HSE at the start of this month that, based on the information provided at referral stage, the boy was on a routine waiting list and this would only be reviewed if more information is provided. That is not good enough. A service should be available through the school system for that child and his family. His mother is at her wits' end and is finding it increasingly difficult to cope, yet according to the HSE's waiting time for assessment this boy may have to wait for a long time before he gets the treatment he urgently requires.
In May of this year I was advised by the HSE that there are 658 children awaiting assessment in Cork and an amazing 4,312 are awaiting speech therapy services. This should not be the position given that the Government has been in office for ten years and has had such funds at its disposal.
I want to bring another issue to the Minister's attention. When parents approach public representatives such as myself and other colleagues on all sides of the House to make representations to the NEPS on their behalf, those in NEPS are not allowed to talk to us. Officials in most other State agencies and bodies will talk to us. Even if we have a parent's written permission, those in NEPS advise me that they cannot talk to us because the Minister will not allow it. I ask the Minister to change this position. I tabled a parliamentary question on this issue and that is the response I was given. I ask the Minister to review this position. If a parent gives a public representative written permission to make representations to and secure information from NEPS——
No, that would be professionally inappropriate.
——that should be allowed. If parents give permission and seek such information, we should be allowed to secure it from NEPS.
Professional psychologists should not discuss a child with a third party.
I do not agree with the Minister. She is wrong about that.
If the parents want it, we should be able to secure it.
Early intervention is crucial. Times have changed. Some 20 years ago many of the conditions I mentioned were not recognised. Conditions such as ADHD, ADD, dyspraxia, dyslexia, autism etc. were not recognised or discovered. It was the "bold child", a "nervous child" or an "awkward child" where dyspraxia was concerned, or the parents were bad parents. Parents are sometimes hauled in and grilled about their behaviour. Things have changed and we have to move on. In the past many of these children did not stay at school but dropped out early. Thankfully, they are now staying and they need the supports, but are not getting them.
I support this motion. It is probably one of the most important issues we have discussed so far this session. Nobody knows better than the Minister about the importance of timely intervention for vulnerable children. The educational assessment and the education plan which follows it is the gateway to the services a child needs. If the gateway is closed owing to the absence of an assessment, no resources in terms of the help a child needs are released, even if they are in place.
This has implications for every child in the class, not just the one experiencing difficulties. If there is a disruptive, unhappy, underachieving, undiagnosed child, that causes enormous problems, of necessity. It absorbs the teacher's attentions and energies and affects every single child in the class so that they are all disadvantaged, in effect. The reality is that in most classrooms today it is not just one child but one in every five children who experience some learning difficulties. The problem may be very minor. It could be slight autism, a mild hearing problem, dyslexia or whatever. In many cases the child can be saved through timely intervention and can go on to lead a perfectly normal, happy life, availing of all the educational opportunities that exist towards helping him or her to achieve full potential.
However, if the safety net is not there, a child's future will be different, characterised by a series of lost opportunities throughout his or her life. It is not just a failure to move on and achieve gainful employment, but rather the inability to grow emotionally, and form meaningful and supportive relationships towards developing a sense of self-esteem. All the literature and research indicates that what happens to such children can lead to depression, even suicide, or to a cycle of crime that ends in prison. At best it leads to a lifetime of underachievement and lost potential. I do not believe anything is sadder than that. We can spend money on nothing better if we are to avert that fate for children.
We know the value of early intervention in averting disaster. The introduction of NEPS was an acknowledgement of that. It begs the question why we are not getting these assessments and the accompanying follow-through. The only explanation for the lack of assessment and the consequent lack of an education plan is the rationing of the scarce therapeutic resources that are available. If the need for intervention is not recognised, the enormous gap in resources in effecting the plan that should follow is not identified. The gateway is being slammed in the face of children at that crucial time in their lives. There is no excuse for not having the type of personnel called for, the language and occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists etc. There is no explanation, but the need was well signalled.
When NEPS was introduced this was an acknowledgement of the need for it. The Disability Act, which clearly guaranteed an assessment of every child, of necessity immediately demanded a vast increase in the supply of high calibre trained therapists. If that was not enough, there was the growing population. We know there will be 58,000 children in the primary school system within a few years. How will they get the additional assessments if we are training eight educational psychologists a year through the MA course?
The greatest irony and the biggest tragedy in this is the impact of the Disability Act. This long-awaited legislation, in which so many people had placed their hopes, gives a statutory right of assessment to a child with a disability, but that applies only to children up to age five. The impact of this is that all the new therapeutic resources which are becoming available to do assessments, including educational psychologists, are being directed to this age group. That is absolutely essential and very welcome, but it was never intended to replace the resources allocated to children in school. Children up to five have the right to an assessment or perhaps can avail of services within the community, but once they go to school they lose it.
It is an absolute outrage that this is what is happening as a result of the introduction of the Disability Act. It is a part of the same problem because not enough educational psychologists or therapists are being trained. It is absolutely essential that this matter is addressed urgently and there is no excuse for not dealing with it.
I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate and I congratulate Deputy Hayes on his initiative. I should like to address the section of the debate noting that a reported 23 school-going children died by suicide in the last school year. That is tragic and we have repeatedly raised the issue of the difficult area of youth suicide. Ireland has the fifth highest level in Europe of youth suicide in the age group 15 to 24 years. Those at a higher level are Lithuania, Estonia, Finland and Latvia. Ireland has the highest level of suicide in western Europe and the Government continues to ignore that fact. It will not put in the resources to give adequate support to the National Office for Suicide Prevention to put prevention programmes in place for all ages, particularly among the youth and children. Children include persons up to the age of 18.
We know very little about the one in every seven young men who die by suicide. Anecdotally, we know some of them. Certainly, if we have adolescent or young adult children, we will know some of them because they will have been among their friends and colleagues. Most young people nowadays know of someone who has taken his or her life, whether a school colleague, somebody from the parish, a relation or whatever. Most young persons tend to know someone who has taken his or her life. Children as young as seven know about suicide and discuss it among themselves in their own way. Little systematic study, however, has been carried out in respect of those young people and no published psychological autopsy studies have been done in Ireland. We do not study what is happening or why. The resources are not being put into this area by the State.
A psychological autopsy study is an in-depth interview with the people closest to the young person who has died by suicide and attempts to clarify those issues which, in the final months of his or her life, may have contributed to the suicide. Such studies have been carried out with this age group in the United Kingdom and the United States and detailed references are available. I cannot say that these studies relate specifically to the Irish situation, but they can inform us. Young people live within families, communities and social networks and factors impact on young people at each of these levels, just as they impact on the systems that surround them. Being male is one of the factors associated with taking one's life. Males tend to use "dangerous" methods, from which there is no coming back, to take their lives. I refer to hanging, for example. Young people from the lower socio-economic groups are over-represented in studies in the United Kingdom, but not so in the United States. However, we do not know what is happening in Ireland.
I am pleased the Minister of State, Deputy Devins, is present, as I know of his interest in this area. I ask the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, to ensure the Cabinet supports him with the resources necessary to do what I believe he wants to do. His predecessor, Tim O'Malley, did not receive the necessary resources, although his heart was in the right place.
I wish to share time with the Minister of State at the Departments of Education and Science and Health and Children, Deputy Devins, who has special responsibility for disability and mental health issues.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I move amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:
"notes:
all schools have access to psychological assessments for their students, either directly through the National Educational Psychological Service or through the Scheme for Commissioning Private Assessments;
the number of NEPS psychologists has trebled since the service was established to 134 at present; and
in the 2006-07 school year, NEPS paid for some 4,400 private assessments;
welcomes:
the Government's commitment to increase the number of NEPS psychologists to 200 by 2009;
acknowledges:
while the recruitment process for the 2007 vacancies has taken longer than expected, it is under way with a view to filling the remaining positions as soon as possible;
further notes:
the enhancements in speech and language services being planned by the Government and the commitments in the Programme for Government in that regard; and
supports:
the Government's determination to promote positive mental health for children and young people through a range of initiatives, including through education, health, sport and community services; and
the Government's commitment to implementing the recommendations of the National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention with a view to reducing suicide rates."
One of the Minister of State, Deputy Devins's key functions is to promote the co-ordinated delivery of services in the health and education sectors to people with disabilities and special educational needs. In that respect, he has a key role to play in the context of access to speech and language therapies. He will address the points raised in the Private Members' motion about those services and also deal with the issue of youth suicide which falls within the mental health aspect of his portfolio. I will focus on the issue of access to educational assessments.
I welcome the opportunity to outline to the House the progress made in this area. It is important to set out the wider context on developments in special education in recent years to explain how the role of psychological assessments has evolved in line with other developments. Since the Government decision in 1998 to provide for an automatic response for children with special needs, the number of staff working solely in the area of special education has grown exponentially. There are now over 6,000 primary school teachers working directly with children with special educational needs compared with fewer than 1,500 in 1998. At post-primary level, over 2,450 whole-time equivalent teachers support special needs students compared with just 200 in 1998. The number of special needs assistants has increased from a mere 300 in 1998 to over 8,800 this year. With this dramatic increase in staffing — there are now over 17,000 people working solely with children with special educational needs and learning difficulties — children with special needs are getting far better support than ever before to help them reach their potential. Since reference was made to children with autism, it is worth noting that there are now over 270 units for such children. In the past year alone 75 additional new units have been set up.
Rightly so.
The procedures for accessing extra support have also been improved with the establishment of the National Council for Special Education and its team of local special educational needs organisers, SENOs. Through this service, parents and teachers have, for the first time, local personnel to help them obtain the appropriate support for their children. All of these improvements have been made possible by a significant increase in funding. Over €820 million is being provided for special education this year. This amounts to €180 million, or nearly30%, more than what was provided in the 2006 Estimates.
Further improvements in services are on the way with the roll-out of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act which provides for an educational assessment for children with special needs and the entitlement to an individual educational plan. It also provides for parents to be consulted and informed at different stages of the process. Parents will also have recourse to an independent appeals board which will have the power to compel bodies, including the Health Service Executive, to take specific actions to address matters before it.
Guidelines on devising and implementing individual education plans have been issued to schools by the council. It is the council's intention that these guidelines will provide a benchmark for best practice pending full implementation of the Act and thatschools will use them to draw up school policies and procedures on individual education plans in advance of the mandatory requirement for them to do so.
A further significant development in recent years that has reduced the need for assessments has been the introduction of the general allocation model of providing resource teachers for primary schools. Since September 2005 all schools have been allocated resource teaching hours based on their enrolment figures to support children with high incidence special needs and learning difficulties. The reasoning behind the introduction of the general allocation model was simple. Children with special needs such as dyslexia or mild learning difficulties are found in almost every school. It, therefore, makes sense that every school should have a number of resource teaching hours based on the number of pupils in the school, while recognising the special additional requirements of boys' schools and schools in disadvantaged areas. This is a major improvement on the previous system, under which every child required a psychological assessment before being given resource teaching hours. This was a time-consuming process that often led to delays in children getting the support they needed. Resource teachers are now in place in the school from the start of the first term; thus children who need their assistance can avail of it immediately. Early intervention is facilitated by the fact that the resources are in place when the child enrols.
Individual allocations for pupils with special educational needs arising from more severe learning disabilities continue to be made. These are being processed by the National Council for Special Education. On the need for assessments, it should also be noted that the NEPS, in common with other psychological services, encourages a staged assessment process, whereby each school takes responsibility for initial assessment, educational planning and remedial intervention in consultation with its assigned NEPS psychologist. It is only if there is a failure to make reasonable progress, in spite of the school's best efforts, that a child should be referred for individual psychological assessment. This system allows the psychologists to give early attention to urgent cases and also to help many more children indirectly than could be seen individually.
The NEPS has recently produced a set of guidelines and resource pack for primary school teachers which outlines such a graduated problem solving model of assessment and intervention. It comprises three distinct processes, at the levels of the classroom, school support and external support to the school.
Where there is no NEPS psychologist assigned to a school, how can it take responsibility for an initial assessment?
As I stated, the NEPS has recently issued a set of guidelines and resource packs for all schools outlining exactly the nature of the graduation model. The full, thorough psycho-educational assessment is only necessary for the small number of pupils for whom assessment and intervention within the school has not worked and for those who have clear and significant special educational needs on entry to school.
Such a staged process should also be used by school principals in prioritising children for assessment through the private scheme. Most children with special educational needs do not, therefore, need individual assessments in order to access extra supports at school. However, all schools have access to assessments for their pupils either directly through the NEPS or through the scheme for commissioning private psychological assessments. Through this scheme, schools that are not yet served directly by the NEPS or Dublin VEC psychologists can commission assessments from any one of 140 private psychologists and the NEPS will pay for them. As a general rule, schools can commission assessments from psychologists on the private panel for up to 2% of their pupil population in any given year. It is up to school principals to decide which pupils need these assessments. Principals who consider that there are exceptional circumstances that warrant additional assessments may consult the NEPS about these cases.
During the last academic year some 4,400 assessments were funded under the SCPA, at a total cost of nearly €1.5 million. Almost 5,800 assessments were carried out by NEPS psychologists in the same period. Therefore, in total, over 10,000 assessments were paid for by my Department in the last school year alone. It is also estimated that an additional 5,000 students benefited from specific advice and consultation provided by NEPS psychologists for their teachers. NEPS psychologists also provided recommendations on some 2,800 students seeking reasonable accommodations in the leaving certificate examinations in the last school year.
The Private Members' motion before the House refers to charities paying for assessments. I take it this relates to the publicity earlier this year about some branches of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul covering the cost of assessments last year. Given the fact that more than 10,000 assessments were funded by my Department that year and that the introduction of the general allocation model which allocated resource teachers to every primary school had reduced the need for assessments, I was genuinely concerned to hear the Society of St. Vincent de Paul had been paying for assessments. Officials from NEPS met the society to explore the nature of these referrals and I also discussed the matter at a meeting with the head of the society. Through the interaction that has taken place between NEPS and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in recent months, a greater understanding of the overall context in which the psychological service is provided to schools exists and a process has been agreed between the two bodies to record and monitor demand.
As I have already explained, all schools have access to assessments either directly through NEPS or through the private scheme. The number of schools served directly by NEPS is, therefore, only half the picture. Nonetheless, the Government is committed to expanding the number of NEPS psychologists so that more schools can receive a direct service.
As the Deputies will be aware, the National Educational Psychological Service did not exist at all until 1999. This Government not only established NEPS: we have trebled its staffing to a current total of 134 psychologists. In addition, a further 16 psychologists provide a service through the Dublin city and county VECs. Taken together, there are currently 150 educational psychologists working in services paid for by the Department of Education and Science.
What about the 31 that were promised?
I will come to that. The Government is committed to increasing the number of NEPS psychologists to 200 by 2009. As part of this expansion, funding was made available earlier this year for 31 extra psychologists to be appointed to NEPS in 2007. In April 2007, there were 128 educational psychologists, including four that have been assigned to the dedicated national behavioural support service and the further education service. Since then, nine educational psychologists have been appointed. However, as is common with all organisations, some members of NEPS have retired or resigned, with the effect that the current complement of educational psychologists stands at 134. However, the Department has recently contracted a further five psychologists, with three due to take up duty later in November and one in December this year. Another psychologist will take up duty in early January 2008.
My Department had originally hoped that the 2007 vacancies could be filled from the existing panels. When it became apparent that this would not be possible, agreement was reached with the Public Appointments Service to conduct a new recruitment competition. As there has been substantial recruitment to the three eastern coast regions that serve Dublin and its surrounding counties, it was decided that the new competition would focus on the other seven regions.
An advertisement was placed in the print media and on thepublicjobs.ie website inviting applications for the position of psychologists, with a deadline for receipt of applications by 25 October 2007. Approximately 120 applications have been received and arrangements are being made for short listing and for interviews.
The recruitment of educational psychologists can be a protracted one, given the limited number of people who have the required skills and qualifications. Applicants must have a recognised first or second class honours degree in psychology or an equivalent qualification, a recognised postgraduate qualification in educational psychology or a related field and at least three years' supervised postgraduate professional experience as a psychologist working with children and young people, preferably in an educational setting. Consideration may be given by the Public Appointments Service to a recognised teaching qualification and at least three years' teaching or related experience in the primary sector or in a relevant specialised role in the post-primary sector. As educational psychologists work with children, they are also subject to Garda vetting prior to recruitment.
To try to make sure the process is as efficient as possible, my Department has only allowed candidates to apply for a maximum of three regions in the latest competition. In previous competitions, candidates could apply for all regions and this caused further delays in recruitment as candidates turned down offers of posts in regions which they did not wish to accept even though they indicated a preference in their application.
The biggest challenge is persuading psychologists to work outside the greater Dublin, Cork and Galway areas. Candidates will only be given a maximum of five days to accept or decline an offer in order to ensure that the post can be offered to the next panel candidate in a timely fashion. I assure Deputies that the Government is doing all it can to fill the NEPS vacancies as soon as possible. It is expected that offers of appointment will be made to candidates in the first quarter of the new year. I do not agree with the proposal in the Private Members' motion to streamline the number of psychologists on the private panel. I believe that this would make the service less convenient for schools and restrict local and regional coverage.
The motion refers to the tragedy of suicides of school-aged children. I am, of course, aware of the serious problem of youth suicide and of the vital role that schools can play in its prevention. The Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy Devins, will outline in more detail how we are addressing the promotion of positive mental health for young people through programmes such as social, personal and health education and through the provision of extra guidance counsellors to schools.
The National Educational Psychological Service also has a role to play in this area. NEPS will shortly publish revised guidelines for schools on responding to critical incidents, which will outline preventive approaches that schools can adopt in creating a safe and supportive environment. It also outlines how schools can plan for crises. The advice and information contained in these publications is based on research in the area of critical incidents and is further enriched by the experience of psychologists and schools who have been involved in this difficult work.
NEPS psychologists offer assistance to all schools which experience critical incidents. This relates in the main to sudden deaths within the school system, where NEPS psychologists, upon request from school authorities, provide an advisory and support function for teachers to deal with the after effects. During 2006 and 2007, some 118 such incidents, including accidents, traffic accidents and killings, were recorded. In many situations, it involved two NEPS psychologists supporting schools for an average of two days input. I take this opportunity to sympathise with families and communities bereaved following tragic events. I also acknowledge the wonderful support given by schools to students, parents and indeed the whole community during such sad times. In many of these circumstances, the whole community turns to the schools for leadership and schools have responded in a most professional, ethical and sympathetic way.
To conclude, all schools have access to psychological assessments for their pupils. Those schools that are not yet directly served by NEPS psychologists can have assessments carried out by private psychologists and NEPS will pay for them. The Government is committed to increasing the number of NEPS psychologists. This is shown by the fact that the recruitment process is under way. We will continue to build upon the significant improvements that have already been made in supports for children with special needs in recent years through increased investment, additional staffing and an improved legislative and administrative framework.
Suicide is an issue which affects every element of our society. The impact on people bereaved by suicide and whole communities caught up in its aftermath is shattering and closure can be hard to find. International evidence shows that reducing the suicide rate requires a collective, concerted effort from all groups in society, including health services, social services, other professionals, communities and community leaders, voluntary and statutory agencies and organisations. It also requires fostering the development of a culture in which people in psychological distress do not hesitate to seek help and a culture that recognises the signs and signals of distress and is willing to help.
Thankfully, the level of discussion and openness on mental health issues, including suicide and self harm, has increased significantly in recent years. This is a very welcome development but we still have a long way to go. We should be encouraged by the progress that has been made to date in Ireland, in particular, the launch of two important strategy documents, Reach Out — A National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention, which was launched in the south of Ireland in September 2005 after an extensive consultation and examination of the research evidence, and Protect Life, which was launched in Northern Ireland in October 2006 following a similar process of consultation. Both strategies set out plans over an agreed time period ranging from general population approaches to improve awareness and education to specific plans for special groups of identified vulnerable people. The establishment of the HSE's National Office for Suicide Prevention plays a vital part in developing and progressing suicide prevention policies.
The action areas identified in Reach Out have led to the implementation of national training programmes, the availability of self-harm services in accident and emergency departments throughout the country, a review of bereavement services and support for voluntary organisations working in the field of suicide prevention.
In light of the increased information around suicide and self harm, it has been agreed with the National Office for Suicide Prevention that an interim target of a 10% reduction in suicide be achieved by 2010. In addition, it has been agreed that a 5% reduction in repeated self harm be achieved by 2010 and a further 5% reduction be achieved by 2016. I know that tackling the problem is not easy but we simply must continue to strive relentlessly to prevent the further tragic loss of lives.
Last month, I had the pleasure of launching Your Mental Health, the national mental health awareness campaign to promote positive mental health.
They would not pay for the Burlington.
Where it is launched is completely immaterial. What is important is it is launched. It is a joint initiative between the National Office for Suicide Prevention here and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland.
What about the eight ASIST programmes? I am sure the Minister of State will give way to explain that.
The main aim of this campaign is to promote positive attitudes and a greater understanding of mental health issues. We are also working on delivering the actions outlined in an all-island action plan on suicide prevention initiatives. This plan acknowledges the benefits that can be achieved through North-South collaboration. The Government is committed to the provision of quality care in mental health. The current level of expenditure on mental health services has trebled since 1997. The overall funding available in 2007 to support suicide prevention initiatives is €8 million.
How much is spent on road safety?
An estimated €1 billion is being spent on mental health services and services to suicidal and potentially suicidal people and their families.
While clinical diagnosis of mental health problems is a matter for the appropriate health professionals, as the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, stated, schools have a vital role to play in suicide prevention. Prevention must be addressed at whole school level through provision of relevant curricula for all children, through effective implementation of the social personal and health education programme, and through the provision of care afforded by a good pastoral system, including the capacity to respond appropriately to early signs of difficulty. The development of self-esteem, general coping skills and personal effectiveness is the most appropriate way to help young people to deal with life pressures and stress. It is clear that negotiating one's way from childhood through adolescence to adulthood requires the development of complex skills and values.
They must be prepared not only for social and economic participation and lifelong learning, but also equipped with skills that will enable them to build positive and healthy relationships and friendships, promote responsible decision making, and support adult relationships and family and community commitments into the future. Our students need to become confident, self-aware and open, and have the knowledge and understanding to navigate the world in which they live, and to negotiate their relationships with others.
Since September 2003, social personal and health education is taught to all pupils in primary schools. Its introduction was supported by a national programme of professional development for teachers. Its aim is to foster personal development, health and well-being of children and to help them create and maintain supportive relationships and develop the skills and attitudes for responsible citizenship. From the beginning of their primary schooling children learn, in an age appropriate way, how to identify, explore and express feelings and emotions, how to communicate with others, to resolve conflict and to respect difference, the importance of caring for one's body, treating oneself and others with dignity and respect, and how to identify people, places and situations that may threaten personal safety.
Social personal and health education has also been compulsory in the junior cycle of post-primary schools since September 2003. The modules at junior cycle deal specifically with belonging and integrating, handling conflict constructively, bullying, dealing with peer pressure, coping with stress, emotional health and well-being, influences on decision making, and relationships and sexuality education. In third year, an awareness of the range of agencies who can help students in difficulty is promoted, as well as the skills of knowing when and how to seek help.
Social personal and health education is designed for implementation in the context of a caring whole-school approach supported by the pastoral care structures in schools. Implementation of social, personal and health education in schools is assisted by a full-time support service which operates on an integrated basis in collaboration between the Department of Education and Science and the HSE. A programme in social personal and health education for senior cycle is also currently being developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.
Many schools also use Mental Health Matters, a resource pack on mental health for 14-18 year olds developed by Mental Health Ireland. All post-primary schools are allocated guidance counselling hours by the Department of Education and Science. Qualified guidance counsellors are trained to provide counselling support to students. From the start of 2005-06 the schedule governing provision of guidance counsellors in schools improved, with the result that there are now almost 700 guidance staff employed in second level schools.
The Department of Education and Science funds the provision of ongoing professional support for guidance counsellors in their counselling work, through a counselling supervision service. In addition, the Department provides funding for the professional development programmes of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors and its local branches. Through this, guidance counsellors are provided with workshops on how to respond to critical incidents in schools. The National Office for Suicide Prevention is also working with the Institute of Guidance Counsellors to support their members' work in this area.
In addition to guidance counsellors, class year tutors and home school liaison co-ordinators provide important assistance in promoting students' well-being and in ensuring that potential difficulties can be identified early and that where necessary referral can be made to the appropriate health agencies. NEPS has also developed an advice and information pack for schools on responding to critical incidents. NEPS provides support and guidance to school staff who are dealing with the pupils on a daily basis. When requested, the service is available for consultation and advice in regard to individual students causing concern.
The Government is also keen to promote positive mental health through the youth sector. In this regard, the national youth health programme, a partnership between the Departments of Education and Science and Health and Children, has been in operation for over ten years. The programme has developed a range of health and well-being promotion initiatives in partnership with stakeholders such as the Rutland Centre, the HSE, the Crisis Pregnancy Agency and BelongTo. It supports youth work organisations in dealing with mental health issues through training and policy and practice development.
Applied suicide intervention skills training, known as the ASIST programme, has also been designed to help care-givers become more ready, willing and able to help persons at risk.
Some eight ASIST programmes were cancelled to save €12,500.
This programme is available to teachers and youth workers. A range of initiatives is in place to promote positive mental health through both the formal education system and through the youth sector. Interdepartmental co-operation between education and health has been prioritised and I intend to build on this in my role as Minister of State with responsibility in both Departments.
I wish to refer to speech and language therapy services. Therapy services, including speech and language therapy, are provided by the HSE and it is envisaged the HSE will continue to provide these services. An application for speech and language therapy should be made to the applicant's local health office in the HSE.
There are thousands waiting.
A particular priority for the Department of Health and Children and the Department of Education and Science in recent years has been the expansion of the supply of therapy graduates, including speech and language therapists to deal with the problem referred to by Deputy Stanton. Additional courses in speech and language therapy were established in three universities. University College Cork, National University Ireland Galway and University of Limerick established courses in speech and language therapy with an initial intake of 25 places on each course.
The University of Limerick courses are at Masters level and the first cohort graduated in 2005. The first cohort from the bachelor degree programmes in University College Cork and National University Ireland Galway graduated this year. This investment represents an increase in training capacity of 320%, from 25 to 105 places, in speech and language therapy. Demand for speech and language therapy in the health services is very significant, hence the substantial investment provided over the past number of years.
The number of speech and language therapists employed in the public health service rose from 281 whole-time equivalents in 1997 to 648 whole-time equivalents at end December 2006, which is an increase of 131% over the period. The Government is committed to further investment in disability services, via the multi-annual investment plan, and in primary care services. These services will see further increases in the speech and language therapy resources available.
I wish to refer briefly to funding for people with disabilities. Between 1997 and 2006, additional revenue and capital funding of €851 million was invested in health-funded support services for people with disabilities. Of this, €549 million was provided for persons with intellectual disabilities and those with autism. A sum of €75 million for revenue purposes was provided for disability services in the 2007 budget. Of this, €41 million was provided for people with intellectual disabilities and those with autism.
As my time is exhausted, I will conclude on that note.
The Chair has been kind to the Minister of State regarding his time.
I wish to share time with Deputy Ó Caoláin.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I commend the Fine Gael Party for tabling this motion. I agree with those who stated that this is an extremely important issue. I share all the concerns expressed in the motion. Deputy Stanton and I spent many hours in committee rooms debating every aspect of what became the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act with the then Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Dempsey, in an attempt to ensure that we got matters right. The Minister of State, Deputy Devins, did not have time to conclude his speech, but judging by what is stated at the end of the script, it seems that it will be 2010 before that legislation and the relevant parts of the Disability Act will be implemented in respect of older children up to the age of 18 and for adults. While we try to get legislation right, its implementation seems to take an extraordinarily long time.
Legislation is particularly important in this area in the context of the crucial importance of ensuring that young people receive it, as early as possible, when they need it. Any parent whose child has a learning difficulty will state that they will do anything to obtain support for their child within the system as quickly and as early as possible.
I recently attended a meeting with a special educational needs organiser, SENO, a parent and a school principal. Everyone agreed that the child who was the subject of the meeting needed support, access to a special needs assistant and some additional hours with a resource teacher. The only way the mother could procure the necessary intervention was to do so on a private basis. Luckily enough she was able to scrape the money together to facilitate her child in this regard but even then she was informed by the SENO that a particular diagnosis, made by a certain type of medical specialist and indicating that her child had dyspraxia — her child may only have had a version of this condition — would have to be forthcoming before the required resource hours could be provided.
People such as the woman to whom I refer spend a great deal of time dealing with the child and adolescent mental health services. Those who do not fall into the categories of more common incidence are placed on waiting lists. I recently raised the case of another child in my constituency whose parent was informed that they would be obliged to wait 20 months for access to the service. During the 20-month period, the child, who is six years old, was not going to receive any support at his school. When I contacted the services in my constituency, I was informed that there were 98 children on the waiting list for the east Limerick team and that the latter also receives many emergency referrals which must take priority, a point I accept. I was further informed that attempts were being made to get a second team for east Limerick but that, to date, there has been no success in that regard.
When I tabled a parliamentary question in respect of this matter I was informed that there are 3,598 children on the waiting list for the child and adolescent community child psychological services. It is to the latter that parents trying to obtain support in schools must go.
It is extraordinarily wrong that children who need support in school are obliged to go on these general lists — the Minister of State, Deputy Devins, might agree with me in this regard. There are health and educational issues involved here which are being mixed together and this is not working. Early intervention is crucial and I do not believe the system is serving the needs of children properly. The Departments of Education and Science and Health and Children need to come together to see if a better system to provide support for children in schools can be arrived at.
SENOs inform us that under the rules by which they must abide, they cannot provide support, even though they know it is needed. At the meeting to which I referred, everybody agreed that the child in question needed support. However, those responsible were not in a position to give it until the special diagnosis relating to the child was obtained. This appears to be a crazy way to use scarce health resources.
The Minister for Education and Science has left the Chamber. However, she is aware that when I served as my party's spokesperson on education I continually pointed out that the weighted model — she referred to it as the general allocation model — was simply wrong in terms of the provision of support within schools. That model allocated support on the basis of numbers in a school rather than on the basis of the needs of the children.
One of the delegates, a teacher at an inner city school in Dublin, at the Labour Party's conference last weekend pointed out that supports were given to areas such as Foxrock. I apologise for singling out areas but the delegate highlighted that schools such as that in Foxrock were given two supports per 100 pupils and a special allocation of resource teachers. The school in question might only have had a small number of children with special needs. Schools in the inner city and in my constituency were given virtually the same allocation. There was a slight increase as a result of disadvantaged area status but this did not amount to much. There are large numbers of children in certain schools who need the support provided by resource teachers. However, they do not receive it precisely because they attend these schools. If they had been in other schools in more wealthy areas, they would have received them. This represents a major disservice to children who need special educational supports and it is ultimately wrong.
The general allocation model is not working. In certain areas as many as one third of children have literacy and numeracy difficulties. The schools they attend are obliged to approach the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to have assessments carried out. If one is not in an area covered by NEPS, one is only entitled to two psychological assessments per 100 children. That is not nearly enough for certain schools that deal with disadvantaged families, in which there is a high incidence of people requiring special needs support. That is an absolute fact and studies were compiled by the Department of Education and Science to highlight it. Despite the evidence, the weighted model is being pushed on the system. This is a serious problem and it must be addressed.
I wish to refer to the area of suicide. Deputy Neville walked out of the Chamber in disgust when it emerged that some of the ASIST programmes, to which the Minister of State referred, have been cancelled due to a shortage of funding.
None of them was cancelled, they were reorganised at different locations.
There is a perception that there was a problem with funding——
It was initially perceived that way.
——in respect of what are fundamentally important measures aimed at preventing the suicide of young people.
It is a very good programme.
This is an issue of major importance. Educational psychologists are well trained in a holistic way. The Minister for Education and Science stated that if there is a bereavement or some other tragedy at a school, these psychologists are sent to assist. However, we should aim at reaching a position where all schools have access to that kind of holistic support for all their pupils. If the latter were the case, we would be able to build a positive attitude and approach to mental health within schools. Educational psychologists should not merely carry out assessments, they should be in a position to provide the broader supports that should be available in all schools.
I welcome the opportunity I have been given to speak on this matter. On behalf of the Labour Party, I fully support the motion tabled by Fine Gael. This is one of the most important issues we could possibly debate because early intervention is crucial when children have special learning needs.
I thank Deputy Jan O'Sullivan for sharing her time. I welcome this motion and the opportunity to address the need for psychological services in our schools to be available to all who need them. This is the critical point. The Department of Education and Science must ensure that every child, regardless of where he or she goes to school, has quick access to an educational psychologist on the basis of need. This is not happening.
Certainly, the mechanism and the framework for providing such a service is in place. The establishment of the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, in 1999 was welcome and long overdue. NEPS is tasked with providing psychological services in public and private primary and post-primary schools. Its stated aim is to support the personal, social and educational development of all children through the application of psychological theory and practice in education. The agency has particular responsibility for children with special educational needs.
It is worth recalling that the aims of NEPS are to provide direct contact and services to young people needing the support of an educational psychologist; provide a consultancy service aimed at developing competencies and the effective use of educational resources; develop a service model that caters for support and development, assessment and systems work; provide the Minister for Education and Science with advice and support and to influence educational policy; develop effective communication with other sections of the Department of Education and Science and other bodies that deliver services to children and follow the best practice in educational psychology in conducting research.
The psychologists employed by NEPS are located in ten regions. They work directly with a number of schools and their work includes engaging in individual casework with children and young people, providing a consultation service for teachers and parents, participating in school-based projects relevant to educational psychology and promoting mental health in schools. NEPS is the mechanism for delivery and its aims and work programme are clearly set out. However, it is hampered in its work due to the insufficient number of psychologists being recruited. As a result, it is not fully operational and cannot reach its potential in terms of life-changing assistance for children.
All the experts strongly assert that early intervention is vital. With early diagnosis of special educational needs, intervention can be triggered and a child can make significant progress as a direct result. That school children have to wait far too long to access educational psychologists is extremely damaging to their development. American research shows that in 75% of cases where children with reading disabilities are not identified and provided with appropriate teaching interventions by the age of nine, their problems are likely to persist into their late teens and beyond. Children having to wait more than two years to access speech and language therapy makes a mockery of Government commitments to early intervention. Sadly, all of us in this House are aware of the terrible trauma these long delays create for caring parents who want to access essential supports for their child with special needs.
Getting a child assessed proves extremely difficult for many parents. Parents who can afford to do so must resort to expensive private psychological assessments and they do so in increasing numbers. It is extremely unfair that the children of parents who cannot afford to obtain these expensive private assessments should have to suffer. Charities are stepping into the void left by Government failure. As Deputy Jan O'Sullivan highlighted, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul has privately funded more than 1,000 psychological assessments of children and young people. This is an indictment of Government failure in this regard.
School children deserve access to speedy assessments and this will only come when NEPS is adequately resourced. Eight years after its inception, NEPS still does not have its promised 200 psychologists. It will have to wait until 2009 to receive the full complement. This means that many individual psychologists in its service are extremely overworked. While parents have stated that the service provided is excellent, availability is inadequate and patchy. Not enough assessments are carried out and more follow-up is required. Children assessed in first class are not reviewed until fifth or sixth class and this is clearly inadequate.
Children are precluded from being assessed due to the limited number of assessments annually. The fact that not all children recommended to be assessed are seen results in children slipping through the net. According to one estimate, 51% of schools do not have access to the service, which is an incredible statistic. The number of children in primary schools is set to increase and the number of primary schools is increasing in major areas of growth and development in the State. With this growth will come greater need for these services. If the Government does not get its act together more and more children will fall behind.
The Union of Students in Ireland, USI, pointed out that students with learning disabilities are being let down by the long waiting lists for psychological assessments. Students with learning disabilities finish secondary school and enter third-level education without having received an up-to-date psychological assessment. The USI also highlighted the implications of a new proposal by the disability advisers working network that students with a specific learning disability should be required to provide a psychological assessment carried out in the past three years to support their third-level CAO application. As a result of the long waiting list for a State assessment, students would have no choice but to pay for an expensive private assessment should this new proposal be implemented.
The USI also reported that students are being forced to wait for up to two years for a psychological assessment by the NEPS. A student with learning disabilities who does not receive an up-to-date psychological assessment could miss out on critical educational supports. Students deprived of a State assessment because of the waiting list could now face a financial penalty. The USI stated: "Requiring students with a specific disability to furnish a psychological assessment carried out in the past three years to support their college application would simply be the wrong way forward." Will the Minister of State, Deputy Devins, and the Minister for Education and Science give their views of this proposal by the disability advisers working network in their responses to this debate?
I remind the House that in 2005, Sinn Féin Deputies tabled a Private Members' motion on special educational needs. It provoked an informative debate and, I hope, helped in some way to spur the Government on to further action as, I hope, will tonight's debate. Replying to that debate the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, stated: "In particular the Minister for Finance is obliged to have due regard to the State's duty to provide for an education appropriate to the needs of every child under the Constitution and the necessity to provide equity of treatment for all children." That was a true statement and I hope it is applied to the forthcoming budget in terms of increased allocations for special needs education in general and the psychological assessment service in particular.
It is imperative that the Government increases resources for NEPS, immediately employs additional psychologists and expands the service to all schools so that any child who requires an assessment gets one as soon as practicable. Our children deserve no less.
Debate adjourned.