Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 February 2026
510. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the current number of psychologists employed by NEPS; the average waiting time for assessment; the number of schools limited to a capped number of referrals per year; and the steps being taken to expand NEPS capacity to ensure timely assessments for younger children. [14366/26]
View answerI would like to take this opportunity to outline the work of my department in this area more broadly and the role of NEPS. All schools have access to:
• General support and advice from a NEPS psychologist, either through the school’s assigned psychologist or through the NEPS Advisory Support Line. The NEPS Advisory Support line provides access for schools 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.
• National and Regional Support and Development service for school staff, which is advertised through the Education Support Centres of Ireland and 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 for individual casework where a priority need is established to either a NEPS psychologist or a private educational psychologist on the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA) panel. 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.
With regard to staffing levels, there are currently 242 educational psychologists employed in NEPS. This is a whole time equivalent of 235.
NEPS does not operate waiting lists. In common with other psychological services and best international practice, NEPS operates on a consultative model of service. There is a focus on the individual assessment work that NEPS carries out in schools, however, assessments are only one aspect of the NEPS service.
Children and young people do not require a psychological assessment or a diagnosis in order to access additional support at school. NEPS supports schools in implementing the Continuum of Support framework with each school taking responsibility for providing universal and preventative approaches, as well as educational planning and supports for students with special educational needs. NEPS psychologists can provide advice during this process and may become directly involved in the identification of support needs at the request of a school, as required and appropriate. If a school has concerns that a child or young person is not making reasonable progress following evidence informed support and intervention, the school may prioritise the involvement of NEPS to support the identification of need process.
Additional supports for children with special educational needs are embedded in all primary and post primary schools. Schools allocate their Special Education Teaching and SNA supports based on need in the school setting, so that those with highest level of need can access the highest level of support within the school in a timely manner.
With regard to future staffing levels, my department is making every effort to recruit additional educational psychologists to address the shortage in the medium to long term. Publicjobs frequently runs campaigns for the recruitment of multiple educational psychologists in addition to advertising for individual posts as they arise.
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.
