Vol. 431 No. 5
89 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Education the number of school psychologists in her Department; whether all positions are currently filled; the number of schools and pupils allocated to each psychologist and the frequency of visits to each school, having specific reference to Dublin north-west area.
The number of school psychologists employed by my Department is 29. Three of these are deployed in a supervisory capacity; 22 operate in the post primary sector and four are on temporary contract on a pilot basis in primary schools in two designated areas. The 22 psychologists in the post primary sector serve an average of 39 schools each with an average of approximately 17,000 pupils per psychologist.
The four psychologists involved in the pilot project in the primary area serve an average of 22 schools each with an average of approximately 5,000 pupils per psychologist, According to the most recent information available, the average number of visits per school generally by psychologists in the course of a schoolyear is four.
Excluding City of Dublin vocational education committee schools (CDVEC employs its own psychologists), there is a total of 19 post primary schools in the Dublin north-west area with a total enrolment of approximately 11,000 pupils. All sanctioned positions for psychologists in my Department are currently filled.
