Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

The Garda central vetting unit provides employment vetting for a large number of organisations that are registered with the Garda for this purpose and employ people in a full-time, part-time, voluntary or training capacity to work with children and/or vulnerable adults. The Teaching Council is registered with the unit to submit vetting applications in respect of new teachers. I am informed by the Garda authorities that all applications received from the Teaching Council in respect of new teachers are processed in accordance with the unit's standard operating procedures. The results in respect of each applicant are disclosed to the registered organisation. In line with the framework of the implementation group on Garda vetting, in which the various stakeholders are brought together, consultations are taking place with the relevant education stakeholders on how best to introduce the vetting of existing teachers, which is expected to commence later this year. The vetting of a body of employees of the size of the cohort of existing teachers would present a challenge to any system. The Garda authorities will maximise the resources at their disposal in managing this development.

I cannot accept the Deputy's contention that there is a significant backlog in the vetting process. The current average processing time for valid vetting applications received at the vetting unit is approximately six weeks. This processing time fluctuates during the year due to seasonal demands, when the volume of applications received from certain sectors, including the education sector, can increase. The time required to process a individual vetting application can be longer if clarification is required from the registered organisation as to the details provided, or if other inquiries need to be made. The strategic expansion of the Garda vetting service is taking place by means of a phased roll-out to an increasing number of organisations in the child and vulnerable adult care sectors. This target group is the clear policy priority. It is necessary to phase the expansion of vetting to prevent an unmanageable surge in vetting application numbers, which would likely lead to an administrative logjam. This expansion will continue until vetting is provided for all personnel working in a full-time, part-time or voluntary capacity with children or vulnerable adults.

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