25 psychologists to be appointed to new educational service which could employ 200

Twenty-five psychologists are to be appointed this year to work for a new national educational psychological service covering all schools in the State.

The Taoiseach and the Minister for Education and Science yesterday announced details of the service which, it is envisaged, could eventually employ up to 200 psychologists.

The announcement was given a qualified welcome by teacher unions, who called for the plans to employ more school psychologists to be accelerated.

The National Educational Psychological Service will operate as an independent statutory agency under the terms of the 1908 Education Act, according to Mr Martin, who said this approach would provide the "most efficient and effective service possible".

The service is expected to play an important role in helping reduce the incidence of early school-leaving and absenteeism, and in assisting children with special education needs. It will also provide support for guidance counsellors and help students to prepare for work and further education.

The service follows up a promise contained in the Programme for Government, Mr Martin said. "The objective of this is to make sure that there is a comprehensive system in place to identify and assist all children with learning difficulties." Last year, a planning group on the implementation of the service reported to the Minister, who has broadly followed its recommendations. The board of the agency will be appointed by and responsible to the Minister. Parents, school managers and teachers, as well as other interested parties, will be represented on the board.

Mr Martin set a period of five years for the establishment of an "adequate" service throughout the State. "Obviously, the pace of the development of the new service will be determined by the availability of resources, which must be agreed by the Government."

Welcoming the initiative, the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland, called for an acceleration of the Government's plans to provide a psychological service to all second-level schools within five years.

"We believe that it should be possible to meet this target within a shorter time frame," said the ASTI general secretary, Mr Charlie Lennon.

Mr Lennon said teachers had been campaigning for many years for the service, which would help identify the causes of difficulties suffered by pupils.

The Teachers' Union of Ireland called for additional resources. Its president, Mr Joe Carolan, said the present ratio of one psychologist to 13,000 pupils was "totally inadequate".

The National Association for the Mentally Handicapped of Ireland welcomed the decision, saying the importance of early assessment could not be stressed sufficiently.