Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)

Garda vetting is a pre-employment check carried out if a prospective employee, volunteer or student on placement will have unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults. Garda vetting provides for the disclosure by the Garda central vetting unit to the prospective employer of details of prosecutions and convictions of the candidate. It is a matter for the employer to assess the implications of the information before a decision is taken on the candidate's suitability to take up duty.

From 1995, the former health boards conducted Garda vetting of all prospective employees who would have access to children and vulnerable adults. In 2007, the Health Service Executive extended this requirement to all prospective new employees and existing employees considered for promotion. The processing of requests by the HSE now takes approximately ten to 12 weeks. Processing time fluctuates depending on seasonal demands and volumes received. I understand that in the event of the critical filling of a position, the HSE uses a fast-track facility and this arrangement is working satisfactorily. The fast-track takes between one and two weeks.

The Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, is currently preparing draft heads of a Bill for consideration by the Government. The Bill will include proposals to provide a statutory basis for the vetting of persons to identify those who are unsuitable to work with children and vulnerable adults. In particular, this will deal with the issue of soft information, an issue I realise is of considerable concern, rather than simply prosecutions and convictions.

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