John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

With the announcement yesterday of the wording of and a date for the children's referendum and the introduction of this Bill at the same time, this week will go down as the time when children became visible, listened to, protected, cherished and valued in this State. I welcome the progress made by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the Minister for Justice and Law Reform on these two fronts.

The National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill is welcome and overdue legislation and having called for it on many occasions I now very much welcome the opportunity to make a contribution. This Bill will provide a legal footing to those people working with children and vulnerable persons in our society and it will ensure that our young people are given the type of protection that sadly and regrettably has not always been the case in our society heretofore.

This Bill gives the House the opportunity and responsibility to get the balance right on a statutory basis between the protection of children and vulnerable persons on the one hand and the right of all citizens to protect their good name on the other. I welcome that all records of criminal convictions and soft information can be stored and disclosed by the Garda and other agencies for the purpose of child protection. Equally, it is vital all citizens have the right to protect their good name and that information such as rumour, innuendo or false allegations will not form any part of the vetting process. By and large, having studied the Bill, I believe the correct balance has been struck on these issues.

There is a need for some exemptions from vetting, such as for private family arrangements for baby sitting and those who assist in a small way at sports or community events. It is vital we are practical because otherwise the supervision, coaching and minding of children would be in so much of straitjacket that it would be unworkable and people would be put off training and coaching young athletes or teams. That would ultimately work to the disadvantage of children. As someone who has been involved in many community and sporting organisations over the years, it is important not to frighten off the volunteer who might be there to offer some assistance. We need such people and so do our children. That is what I mean when I say we must get the balance right, and this Bill does that.

Another issue that the Minister referred to when introducing the Bill this week is the recommendation, which I would strongly support, although I was concerned when he said it might not be possible, that vetting should be transferable between different employer organisations to cut down on the multiple applications for vetting of the same individual. At present, the organisation offering employment arranges vetting and if after a week the new employee leaves to do exactly similar work with another organisation, the whole process must start again. I have seen in the past how this has led to huge delays and the clogging up of the system. I hope a way could be found for vetting to be transferable between posts and organisations without in any way compromising the protection we all want to offer to our children and vulnerable adults.

Concern has also been expressed about the inability to get information from other states about the criminal records of citizens who wish to seek work in this country. I commend the Minister for Justice and Equality for his commitment to introduce a separate Bill to deal with this important matter.

Garda vetting for people involved in working with young people has been a mainstay of the voluntary sector for a number of years. One of the problems, however, with the system in place is there is no statutory obligation for the declaration of information. This Bill will correct that and the result should create a safer and healthier environment for all our young people.

Over the past few years, I had occasion to highlight the significant pressure under which the Garda vetting bureau has to carry out its duties. In particular, I referred to delays in processing vetting applications and the domino effect that had on people taking up positions in voluntary bodies and organisations. I know of people who were unable to accept positions as a result of these delays. With the establishment of a bureau dedicated specifically to the role, such delays will, hopefully, be a thing of the past. At no time in highlighting these delays did I question the validity or the necessity of the vetting system. I pointed out at all times that no right thinking person could oppose such a measure. My only concern was the time it took to process applications.

The Bill is important because it aims to protect those who are not in a position to protect themselves. At a time the collective effort, energy and focus of the Government has been spent meeting the challenges of the economic crisis in our country, I am confident that in years to come future generations will reflect that we did not forget, neglect or take our eye off the ball with regard to the protection of children and young people. Some things in life are more important than money and finance.

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