Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)

I agree with Deputy Reilly that appropriate vetting is important, irrespective of whether one's employer is in the public or private sector. One issue that arises in the health area is the great number of staff who have come from overseas to work in Ireland. The Garda must work in conjunction with Interpol to vet them and this can often take some time. I am satisfied there has been vetting of all new staff since 1995, which is quite some time ago. Those who were employed prior to 1995 are being dealt with on a retrospective basis as quickly as the HSE can do so.

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