Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill. I am generally supportive of it and expect to be in a position to support it through the Oireachtas. I welcome the announcement in regard to the children's rights referendum and the fact the referendum will be held on a Saturday which will give most people the opportunity to register their position on it. The referendum is a long time coming but, nevertheless, it is welcome.

Like other Deputies, I have not had the opportunity to go through the wording in detail but from a cursory examination of it, it would appear to be in line with what we have been expecting from the initial report of the Oireachtas committee, various wordings and preparations of wordings from previous Ministers of State with responsibility for children. It appears that what we have been expecting has been quite well outlined in the wording. There is a recognition of the rights of all children. The wording proposed by the committee spoke of physical and moral failure which is very broad and general but the proposed wording is more specific in that regard. The question of adoption is also addressed. It refers to the best interests of the child in proceedings and states that the views of the child shall be taken into account rather than may be taken into account. From a cursory examination of the wording, it would appear to be a very welcome development and as I said, I look forward to being involved in the debate on it.

I refer to suggestions from Government speakers that the McKenna judgment should be interfered with in some respects and that opposition voices should, in some way, not be catered for or reduced in their access to the media and in this process. A referendum on our Constitution is very important and we should have the widest debate. There should be no interference with the McKenna judgment in that regard.

I welcome this legislation which is set against a background which is not good and which has seen many failures to detect and prevent the abuse of children and vulnerable adults. We have seen various reports over the years, including the Kelly Fitzgerald report, the Ferns report, the Dublin Archdiocese report, the Ryan report, the Cloyne report and various other recent reports on other dioceses in the Catholic Church.

It comes from that background and the vetting system needs to be put on a statutory footing. It also needs to dovetail with other legislation relating to children, including the Children First Bill, the referendum on children's rights and the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012. This Bill is worthwhile in that it dovetails with the aforementioned legislative measures.

The Bill provides for a statutory framework to define soft or specified information and sets out procedures for use of this relevant information in addition to records of prosecutions or criminal convictions. It also sets out categories of persons who are excluded from vetting, provides a mechanism for the Minister to create a system of re-vetting and introduces an appeals procedure.

There is no doubt that the current vetting system needs to be put on a statutory footing. Excellent work is being done in this area but I have heard complaints about the length of time involved in processing applications and I hope sufficient resources are invested to provide the staffing and information technology arrangements needed to ensure a quick and thorough vetting system which is also transparent and accountable.

The question of soft information has been addressed by several speakers. While I agree that such information should be made available to the vetting system, it is an area in which we need to proceed with care. An independent appeals system will be required in respect of vetting generally and this type of information in particular. There must be trust in the system.

While re-vetting is provided for in the Bill, the Department has indicated that it will not be a priority. This is a pity and the Minister should reconsider the matter to ensure re-vetting is properly resourced because it is essential for the protection of children and vulnerable adults.

See this speech in context