Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 July 2018
193. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Education and Skills the allocation provided for educational psychologists; and the estimated cost of employing a further ten, 20, 30, 40 and 50 educational psychologists, respectively. [29446/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy may be aware my Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) 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).
Following on from an increase allowed in the 2017 Budget that the sanctioned number for NEPS psychologist stands at 184 whole-time equivalents of which some 179 w.t.e. posts are currently filled with 5 posts vacant due to on-going retirements and resignations, etc. within the Service. Even at this current level this represents the highest number of psychologists to be employed within NEPS since the inception of the service in 2000.
Additionally the Deputy may be aware that under the provisions of Budget 2018 I was pleased to announce that NEPS psychologist numbers will expand by a further her 10 posts from the start of the new academic year.
I can inform the Deputy that a national recruitment competition is currently in operation by the Public Appointments Service in conjunction with my Department to replenish NEPS Regional Recruitment Panels to allow for both the filling of the abovementioned 5 vacancies and the expansion of NEPS number by a further 10 posts.
In answer to the Deputies specific question I can inform her that the average direct pay and non-pay cost per annum of engaging an individual Educational Psychologist is €73,000 per annum. The estimated annual additional cost, therefore, of employing the following numbers would be: 10 posts - €0.73m, 20 posts - €1.46m, 30 posts - €2.19m, 40 posts - €2.92m and 50 posts - €3.65m.
