Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2026
463. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether additional NEPS capacity or resources will be provided to a school (details supplied) in Celbridge to ensure timely assessments for students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5513/26]
View answerEach year, NEPS staffing levels are evaluated and capacity to serve schools is established. There is currently a nationwide shortage of educational psychologists which has resulted in vacancies. Due to this shortage, schools may temporarily be without an assigned NEPS psychologist.
Where a school temporarily does not have an assigned psychologist due to a vacancy, it continues to have access to a range of NEPS services including:
• The NEPS Advisory Support Line is available to the school. This line provides access for schools without as assigned psychologist to support and advice from a Senior Educational Psychologist in NEPS via a designated phone line available from Monday to Friday.
• Support from a NEPS psychologist in the event of a Critical Incident.
• The NEPS’ National and Regional Support and Development service for school staff also continues to be available to schools. This service covers areas such as trauma informed practice, cluster group support for post-primary special education teachers and special class teachers, training for Student Support Teams and supporting reluctant school attendance/school avoidance behaviour.
• Access, through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), to a private educational psychologist on the SCPA panel for individual casework where a priority need is established. In order to join the panel, private educational psychologists must meet qualification criteria set by the Department. The scheme is an interim measure intended to supplement the NEPS service and meet current urgent needs for psychological assessment of children and young people.
My department is making every effort to recruit additional educational psychologists to address the shortage in the medium to long term. Since January 2023, NEPS has supported bursaries for trainee educational psychologists enrolled in University College Dublin's Professional Doctorate in Educational Psychology and Mary Immaculate College Limerick’s Professional Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology. This has also been extended to students enrolled in the new professional doctorate in educational psychology in Maynooth University. Those in receipt of a bursary support the work of NEPS through trainee placements in the service as part of their studies and commit to joining NEPS upon graduation. There are over eighty trainee educational psychologists in receipt of a bursary who are expected to join NEPS upon graduation.
The Public Appointments Service recently completed a recruitment campaign for Educational Psychologists and successful candidates are now being appointed to NEPS.
