Psychological Service Resumed in Wicklow Schools

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Psychological Service Resumed in Wicklow Schools

Friday, March 30 2007

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr. Dick Roche T.D., today, Friday 30th March welcomed an announcement by the Minister for Education & Science, detailing continued psychological services for schools in Wicklow.

Mary Hanafin T.D., today said that schools in Wicklow affected by the recent reorganisation of NEPS service will not lose their assigned psychological services.

"I was concerned that certain schools in south Dublin and Wicklow were affected by a reorganisation of responsibilities within NEPS, so I asked officials in the Department and NEPS to review this situation, given that additional psychologists have been approved nationally. I was particularly concerned that schools were affected in mid-academic year.

That review has taken place and I am pleased to be able to say that direct service will be resumed to the schools affected immediately. The additional schools recently added to the NEPS coverage in the region will also retain the service" said Minister Hanafin

There are currently 143 educational psychologists working in services paid for by the Department. The expansion of the number of NEPS psychologists by a further 31 in 2007 will represent a significant increase in the numbers in NEPS and bring the total number of psychologists in the system to 174.

Minister Hanafin went on to say, "under the social partnership agreement Towards 2016 the Government has committed to deliver further NEPS psychologists in 2008 and 2009, to bring the number to 193. At this point, including the 16 psychologists in the Dublin VEC areas, it is expected that the number of educational psychologists in the system as a whole will be 209. This means that the number of schools covered directly by NEPS psychologists will increase substantially."

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