Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 April 2008
482 Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been drawn to the difficulties faced by Polish educational psychologists in obtaining employment here; and the action being taken to facilitate them in view of both the need for qualified psychologists here and the high number of children of Polish origin in the education system. [14571/08]
View answer483 Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Education and Science the practical experience required of Polish psychologists in order for their professional qualifications to be recognised here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14572/08]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 482 and 483 together.
As the Deputy will be aware all primary and post-primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA). Schools that do not currently have NEPS psychologists assigned to them may avail of the SCPA, whereby the school can have an assessment carried out by a member of the panel of private psychologists approved and paid for by NEPS.
In common with many other psychological services and best international practice, NEPS encourages a staged assessment process, whereby each school takes responsibility for initial assessment, educational planning and remedial intervention, in consultation with their assigned NEPS psychologist. Only if there is a failure to make reasonable progress in spite of the school's best efforts, will a child be referred for individual psychological assessment.
I can assure the Deputy that this service is available to all students, irrespective of their language skills or ethnicity and that interpretation services are provided, where required, for those students undergoing assessment.
The Deputy may be aware that the Health and Social Care Professionals Council was established in 2007 by my colleague the Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney TD under the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005. The purpose of the Council is to provide for the statutory registration of 12 health professions including psychology. Its main focus at present is to put in place structures for registration, education and fitness to practise and I understand that a significant amount of work has been undertaken in the past year to prepare for registration. When fully operational, all psychologists will have to be registered with the Council in order to practise.
In the meantime, Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications, applies to all EEA nationals wishing to practice a regulated profession in an EU Member State other than that in which they obtained their professional qualifications, on either a self-employed or employed basis. Its intention is to make it easier for qualified professionals, including psychologists, to practice their professions in European countries other than their own but due safeguards are provided in the assessment of the qualification for public health and safety and consumer protection.
The Department of Education and Science has overall responsibility for the Directive and the Department of Health and Children is the competent authority, acting on the advice of the Psychological Society of Ireland, in the case of the profession of psychology.
The Directive provides for an assessment of the qualifications of an applicant against those required to practise in the host member state, if the activities covered by the profession in the home member state and the host member state are comparable; if deficits in the qualifications are identified, subsequent post-qualification professional experience of the applicant must also be considered. If the need for compensation measures are identified, the host Member State must offer an applicant the choice of completing an adaptation period or taking an aptitude test.
In Ireland, non-Irish qualifications are assessed for their equivalence to the Irish qualifications required to work in the public health sector in Ireland.
I am advised by the Department of Health and Children that in 2007/8 it has processed only one application from a Polish national seeking professional recognition of qualifications in Educational Psychology and this application was successful.
I can inform the Deputy in relation to a recruitment competition for employment as an Educational Psychologist with my Department's NEPS service, held recently by the State Appointments Commission, that the following entry requirements were specified:
(1) A recognised 1st or 2nd class honours degree in psychology or a qualification acceptable to the Commissioners as equivalent (eligibility for graduate membership of the PSI or BPS will be acceptable); and
(2) A recognised post-graduate qualification in educational psychology conferred prior to February 2008.
or
A related post-graduate qualification and at least 3 years supervised post-graduate professional experience as a psychologist working with children and young people, preferably in an education setting (time spent on studying the relevant post-graduate qualification may be included within the 3 years) or
Consideration may be given by the Board to a recognised teaching qualification and at least 3 years teaching or related experience in the primary sector or in a relevant specialised role in the post-primary sector.
Furthermore under the SCPA scheme referred to above Psychologists on the panel are private practitioners who have satisfied NEPS:
(1) that they are graduate members of an appropriate professional body (e.g. the Psychological Society of Ireland or the British Psychological Society
(2) that they are Registered or Chartered psychologists or, if not, that they have at least one year's supervised experience of administering psychological tests to children.
