Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 9:

In page 12, lines 36 to 43 and in page 13, lines 1 to 5, to delete subsection (3) and substitute the following:“(3) A nomination referred to subsection (1) shall be in such form as may be specified by the Bureau and shall include the following information in respect of the person nominated:

(a) his or her name and, where he or she also uses one or more other names, each of those names;
(b) in a case where he or she has a former name, including where appropriate, a maiden name, that name or each of them, as the case may be; (c) his or her gender;
(d) his or her mother's maiden name;
(e) his or her address;
(f) his or her previous addresses (if any);
(g) his or her date of birth;
(h) his or her place of birth;
(i) his or her Passport Number (if available);
(j) in a case where he or she has a criminal record, particulars of such record;
(k) such other information as the Bureau may reasonably require for the performance of its functions under this Act.”.

In these amendments I am providing that vetting applicants will be required to provide details of the following: their place of birth, gender, any criminal convictions and other names that they may have used to describe themselves. I propose the amendments to provide for greater clarity in the Bill regarding the information persons applying for positions should provide. All of this information is currently required in the existing vetting process. It is important to require persons to provide details of convictions, gender and other names used such as an alias or a previous name in order that the bureau can satisfactorily verify the identity of the person and the information on record before disclosure.

Amendments Nos. 10, 12 and 14 provide for the recording of the place of birth of the vetting applicant and his or her nationality. They are alternatives to the amendments I have tabled. I do not propose to make specific provision for the recording of nationality because I consider that place of birth and passport number provide sufficient precise information on the identity of a person seeking to be vetted.