FG slams Govt attitude to school psychology service

Fine Gael has criticised the Government's attitude towards the psychological evaluation of primary school children.

Party spokesperson Olwyn Enright claimed just 51% of primary schools had access to the National Education Psychological Service and the number of schools covered had actually fallen this year.

She also said it was not good enough for Education Minister Mary Hanafin to say that schools outside the NEPS can commission private services.

Ms Enright said psychological services were of the utmost importance to children with special educational needs.

"If a child is helped and gets the right services that they need at a very young age, they can achieve so much more and so much more can be done to help them," she said.

"If they're not identified in time, it's actually going to cost a lot more in the long term in terms of resources that you have to give that child."