1. The delay in processing Garda Vetting – John O’Mahony TD
2. The urgent need to examine the procedures and time frames associated
with the Garda vetting process – Patrick O’Donovan TD
Response by Minister of State Mr Dinny McGinley, TD, on behalf of Minister
for Justice, Equality and Defence Mr Alan Shatter TD
I am responding on behalf of Minister Shatter who regrets he is unable to
be here.
I thank the Deputies for raising this important matter. I should say at the
outset that since his appointment the Minister has given priority to doing
all he can to ensure that the vetting process operates efficiently and that
applications are dealt with as quickly as possible.
We should not be under any illusion about the scale of what is involved.
The Garda Central Vetting Unit provides employment vetting for
approximately 20,000 organisations in Ireland, registered with the Unit for
this purpose, which employ personnel to work in a full-time, part time,
voluntary or student capacity with children and / or vulnerable adults. The
Unit processed approximately 328,000 vetting applications on behalf of
these organisations in 2012.
There are 94 personnel assigned to the Garda Central Vetting Unit.
The current average processing time for applications is approximately 12
weeks from date of receipt. However, seasonal fluctuations and the
necessity to seek additional information on particular applications can
result in this processing time being exceeded on occasion.
All organisations registered for Garda Vetting are aware of the processing
time-frames for the receipt of Garda vetting and have been advised to
factor this into their recruitment and selection process.
In order to observe equity and fairness in respect of all applicants for
Garda Vetting, standard procedures are such that applications are processed
in chronological order, from the date of receipt at the Central Vetting
Unit.
A vetting disclosure is made in response to a written request and with the
permission of the person who is the subject of that request. Garda vetting
disclosures are issued to specified organisations registered with the
Vetting Unit for that purpose in respect of a particular post or
employment.
The disclosure is made to the requesting, registered organisation of the
position at the time when it is issued.
Each time a new vetting application is received, a full vetting check is
conducted to ensure that the most recent data available is taken into
account. The non-transferability and contemporaneous nature of the
certificate protects against the risk of fraud or forgery and is a
guarantee of the integrity of the vetting service. It also affords the
registered organisation the facility to assess suitability based on the
most up to date information available on the applicant.
It is worth emphasising, at this point, that the primary purpose of the
vetting process is the protection of children and vulnerable adults and
this must remain the case.
The Minister has been pursuing all options to ensure that adequate
resources are available to the Vetting Unit. I think Deputies will welcome
the fact that following discussions with the Department of Public
Expenditure and Reform, sanction was granted for an additional 25 staff to
be re-deployed from the Department of Agriculture to the Garda Central
Vetting Unit in the near future. This should clearly have a positive effect
on matters.
The Minister has asked me to assure the House that it will remain a
priority to ensure that vetting applications will be dealt with as quickly
as possible.