A total of 31 psychologists are to be recruited to the National Educational Psychological Service (Neps) for schools this year, the Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, said yesterday.
The announcement came one day after the Irish Examiner reported that the Society of St Vincent de Paul had paid for psychological assessments for more than 1,000 children from disadvantaged backgrounds last year, following requests from school principals.
There are lengthy waiting lists for psychological assessments for pupils in schools as there are just 127 psychologists in the service.
"The extra 31 psychologists that will be recruited in 2007 will mean that more schools will have a direct service from Neps, rather than using private assessments," Ms Hanafin said.
She pointed out that there was provision for the recruitment of more psychologists in each of the next three years.
The Minister also announced a 20 per cent increase in funding for the National Educational Welfare Board, which will see the appointment of an extra 15 staff to tackle school attendance.
The Government had come under fire from Opposition deputies after the revelations about St Vincent de Paul funding.
Yesterday Ms Hanafin said the staffing increases were "clear evidence of the Government's commitment to target extra resources at those that need them most".
However, Fine Gael education spokeswoman Olwyn Enright dismissed Ms Hanafin's announcement as a "damage limitation exercise".
She said the Minister for Education could not "bluff her way out of the current mess".
"Between February 2005 and December 2006, the number of primary schools without access to the National Educational Psychological Service increased by 160," Ms Enright said.
"With considerable understatement, Minister Hanafin did concede that not every school in the country was covered by NEPS," Ms Enright said.
"Well, that's one way of acknowledging that 51 per cent of primary schools are still outside the system, eights years after it was first established."
