Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 December 2021
426. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his attention has been drawn to the funding disparity between counselling doctorate programmes and clinical psychology doctorate programmes in third-level institutions; and if he will allocate emergency funding to the counselling doctorate programme in Trinity College Dublin for the 2022-2023 academic year to address that disparity. [60390/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is strongly committed to supporting the mental health of the population through the provision of graduates with the key competencies and skills to be effective in the health workforce, and support a range of clinical teams in our health services.My Department understands there is a longstanding arrangement in place under which the HSE, and indeed former Health Boards, recruit Trainee Clinical Psychologists and sponsor their training in order to encourage employment with the HSE of suitably qualified professionals. This arrangement is made by the HSE and is not the responsibility of my Department. The question of whether similar arrangements should be put in place in relation to other psychological specialties in order to meet their workforce needs is a matter for consideration by the appropriate recruiting bodies.
My Department also understands that on the basis of the recommendations of the 2017 Report of Psychology Review Implementation Group the HSE introduced revised eligibility criteria for recruitment to HSE psychologist positions involving a combination of the consideration of qualification and placements or supervised work experience when determining a person's eligibility for employment. Furthermore, my Department has been led to understand by the National Health and Social Care Professions Office in the HSE that the Psychology Project Team developed a report which recommended the development of a workforce plan for psychology and the creation of a National Psychology Placement Office which has yet to be established. Implementation of the recommendations in this report is being considered by the HSE in the context of resource requirements and the ongoing estimates process. The implementation of the report’s recommendations and the creation of a National Psychology Placement Office are matters for the HSE. My Department does not have a role in relation to placement arrangements in organisations such as the National Educational Psychological Service or the HSE for students enrolled on these programmes. In conclusion, issues arising from sponsorships and employment eligibility in relation to psychologists, and indeed more generally, are matters for relevant employers rather than the responsibility of my Department.
