Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity to contribute to the debate on this Bill. There is no doubt it will strengthen the State's protection of children and vulnerable people. I commend the Minister for Justice, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the Government on the proactive legislative steps they are taking to ensure children are protected and not exposed to any abuse such as that which occurred up to the recent past.

The Bill will give statutory effect to the current vetting system that has been in place. It would be remiss of me not to mention the significance of the children's referendum launch that is happening this morning, which will be a huge positive step. I hope it will ensure further debate and discourse on children's protection.

I compliment the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality on its work on this Bill, on its wide consultation with interested organisations and on taking on board their views. It has made a number of recommendations to which I will return later.

There is no doubt this legislation will tighten up the area of ensuring adequate protection for children and better vetting procedures for people who come into contact with children and vulnerable people. The current system has gone some way towards ensuring protection but it is not complete. I read recently that in County Cork, a convicted sex offender was found to be driving a public school bus. I understand that situation has since been corrected. This legislation will ensure such happenings will not occur again.

The Bill will focus essentially on those who work with children and those who have regular contact on a medium to long-term basis with children and vulnerable people.

I refer to the PPS number as an identifier. The Minister must clarify whether a PPS number can be used as an identifier in the vetting process. I encourage its use but there may be data sharing issues.

I note that the Fianna Fáil Party has concerns about childminders. I am the parent of young children who go to a childminder. Parents closely monitor individual childminders and they develop a strong relationship with the childminder. We must be careful not to be over the top in this legislation.

Some 87.9% of foster carers have already been vetted, with the remaining 12.1% being processed. The HIQA report on elderly homes revealed that only 43% of centres have been adequately vetted. That is a concern. I hope the new system will address these areas. Challenges remain for the Government because, with the new legislative system, I am concerned whether adequate resources will be put in place to ensure the national bureau for vetting will have the resources and facilities to deal with the increase in vetting applications. There are delays and issues with the current procedures and they have not been adequately addressed.

I was involved with many community groups, including the GAA and the boards of management of schools. A number of voluntary organisations look after the social needs of children with the best of intentions. Such agencies and organisations need to be properly advised and informed with regard to the implications of legislation. That can be done at relatively low cost through the establishment of a website with appropriate information, forms and advice. The observations of the Oireachtas joint committee are worth considering. They mention that those with access to confidential information on children and vulnerable people should also be vetted. That point is not dealt with in the Bill and should be considered.

I feel strongly about the portability of vetting certificates. Individuals may have a vetting certificate for one organisation but may be involved in a multitude of organisations. We should consider reducing administration by making the vetting certificate transferable within other organisations. That seems a practical and cost-effective solution and will make the process easier to administer. Mandatory re-vetting is recommended by the Oireachtas joint committee and is provided for in the Bill. Perhaps we should consider a renewal period for vetting certificates of three or five years, similar to a driving licence. This point should be examined.

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