Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2019
184. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 67 of 18 October 2018, if the vacant positions have been filled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17392/19]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware my Department’s National Educational Psychological Service provides educational psychological support to all primary and post-primary schools. This involves direct support in the event of a critical incident, access to national and regional support and development work to build school capacity to support students, access to a NEPS psychologist for responses to queries arising, and access to individual pupil casework via a NEPS psychologist or through the Scheme for the Commissioning of Psychological Assessments (SCPA).
The Deputy will recall that in my answer to her previous question No. 67 of 18 October I informed her that the NEPS Galway office was supporting vacancies in its educational psychologist staffing complement. I can now inform her that these vacancies have now been filled, the first in January 2019 and the second as recently as last week.
These staff are undergoing normal induction process and work-shadowing within that office and are being and will be allocated full lists of schools as the year progresses.
In the meantime, however, a Senior Psychologist in that office took retirement producing another vacancy which will be filled following an internal NEPS competition to be organised shortly.
Furthermore I am pleased to inform the Deputy that an additional psychologist post is being provided to the Galway office to enhance school coverage in the immediate catchment area. The Public Appointments Service is currently processing a candidate for recruitment in this regard. It is envisaged that my Department will be in a position to make this appointment in the near future.
In the interim schools affected in relation to the aforementioned vacancies will continue to have service provided as described above, with pupil assessment needs being provided by private practitioners through the SCPA scheme.
