Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

In the past several days my office has been inundated with calls from employees of the Garda vetting unit at Thurles, County Tipperary, who have been informed they will be laid off prior to Christmas. This is particularly galling when they are also aware of the recruitment of up to 16 interns from the JobBridge scheme who are due to take up positions in the unit in January.

These clerical officers were employed on temporary contracts, which were continually extended up until now, to tackle the huge backlog of applications in the unit. Many of them have been working in the unit for several months, even years in some cases. Through processing applications with personal and sensitive information, they have proved their professionalism, loyalty, discretion and experience at all times for the Garda vetting unit. The staff and management of the unit are doing an exemplary job under difficult circumstances on which I commend them. This unit is a relatively new one and since its inception it has been burdened with limited accommodation and a staggering workload. Yet despite these difficulties, and due entirely to the diligence of staff and management, they have succeeded in reducing the backlog in recent months from a waiting time of 16 weeks to just four weeks and will be down to the target of two weeks prior to Christmas.

This work ethic should be treasured yet these employees are being pushed aside as the backlog has now been brought under control. Their Christmas bonus is an unemployment notice with ten people losing their jobs prior to the Christmas break.

What will be the impact of these job losses on the vetting unit? The delay in processing Garda clearance certificates has in the past caused huge difficulty for people hoping to commence work or for people hoping to study certain college courses. The Minister for Justice and Equality promised a national vetting bureau Bill which will contain proposals to extend the remit of Garda vetting requirements to include a greater number of organisations. More robust measures to ensure the protection of children and the vulnerable in our society will be most welcome. The impact, however, these lay-offs will have on the unit must be properly examined and assessed. They will adversely affect the waiting times for the processing of an application for vetting, given the huge increase in the unit's workload which will come about as a result of this new legislation which will broaden the scope of the vetting unit, placing a huge additional demand on its service.

The issue relating to the use of interns raises questions about the JobBridge scheme. The coincidence of offering internships to displace current job holders is a despicable way to manoeuvre a scheme and manipulate people. The workers to be displaced are angry and disillusioned. They rightfully feel aggrieved and consider they have been replaced for a cheaper alternative.

Answers must be given as to why there is a need for interns when others are losing their jobs. It is highly questionable that experienced, fully trained staff will be laid off while inexperienced interns are taken on. It is illogical, inefficient and wasteful to let go someone on contract work who is fully trained on the intricacies of the system and to replace them with someone who has no training in this field.

Will the Minister acknowledge this decision is not cost effective, is not in the best interests of the system and is extremely unfair and unjust to the workers in question? I call on him to reverse the decision and to renew the existing staff contracts.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Deputy for his interest in this matter, one about which Deputy Coonan was in contact with me earlier this week.

The Garda central vetting unit provides employment vetting for a large number of organisations registered with the Garda for this purpose and which employ or engage persons in a full-time, part-time, voluntary or training capacity to positions where they would have substantial, unsupervised access to children and vulnerable adults.

I am informed by the Garda authorities the average number of applications processed each month for 2011 to date is 25,384 and the average processing time for Garda vetting applications at the unit now stands at five weeks. This is a significant improvement on the average processing time of 12 weeks at the end of last year. One has to go back to 2009 to see a processing time as low as that which currently exists when the average number of applications received per month was approximately 25% lower than at present.

A total of 100 personnel are assigned to the unit at its office in Thurles, County Tipperary. To put this staffing figure into perspective, 13 individuals were employed to deal with vetting applications before the current process of development in Garda vetting began in 2005. Of this 100, five are members of An Garda Síochána and 75 are full-time Garda civilian personnel. In addition, 20 civilian personnel have been employed on a temporary basis to help reduce the backlog and bring down processing times. The contracts of ten of these personnel are due to expire shortly.

As I pointed out, the backlog issue has been substantially addressed and processing times have returned to what could be regarded as normal for this type of service. I have already placed on the record of the House my commitment to keeping the time required to obtain a vetting to the minimum possible. One of my first actions as Minister was to allow the Garda Commissioner the chance to extend the contracts of the ten temporary civilian employees for a six-month period and assign an additional ten temporary civilian personnel.

As a completely separate issue, the Garda Commissioner has pursued the question of providing placements for several individuals to avail of the JobBridge scheme. The aim of the scheme is to provide those seeking employment with the opportunity to gain valuable work experience, maintain close links with the labour market and to enhance their skills and competencies through a quality internship opportunity. It is expected that individuals who participate in the scheme will enhance their prospects of securing employment in the future. I am sure the Deputy will see the value in this.

The scheme will provide internship opportunities of six or nine months for unemployed individuals in organisations in the private, public and community and voluntary sectors. The offering of placements in the Garda central vetting unit under the terms of the scheme is for no other purpose than that for which the scheme was intended — to provide those seeking employment with the opportunity to gain valuable work experience, maintain close links with the labour market and to enhance their skills and competencies through a quality internship opportunity.

Any suggestion that these placements are being offered to fill vacancies left by the staff whose contracts are expiring is utterly rejected. I want to be absolutely clear — the position of temporary employment of staff on contract has not been affected in any way by developments with the JobBridge Scheme.

I wish to express my gratitude to the staff in question for their efforts in helping to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the unit, given the particularly important nature of the work in question. The sanction for their employment, however, was issued by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform clearly on the basis that their employment was temporary. That remains the case. However, in this context, discussions on the matter are ongoing between officials of my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Accordingly, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on the matter at this point in time, other than to say I am hopeful there will be developments.

Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I am glad to hear the matter is under review. These lay-offs do not make any sense particularly in this highly sensitive area in which confidentiality is very important. It is vital that those who fill those roles have experience. Those on temporary contracts have built up that experience and expertise and are confident, capable, efficient personnel. I hope the ten clerical officers due to be let go before Christmas will have their contracts renewed.

Second, will the Minister clarify the position in the case of another 11 people whose contracts are due to expire in March? From my perspective and the perspective of everybody operating the vetting unit, it is highly unacceptable that people who are in a job should be displaced by people on a new jobs scheme. I appreciate the fact that the Minister is reviewing this. I hope there will be a favourable outcome to the review and that the people who are employed will continued to be employed on a contractual basis into the new year.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I emphasise there is no question of people being displaced by those on the internship scheme. I expect the Deputy would welcome the usage of the scheme, as it will specifically give some unemployed people in his constituency an opportunity to gain skills and competencies to re-enter the workforce in the difficult circumstances that exist in the context of the large number of individuals unemployed due to our economic difficulties.

My Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform are in regular contact about ensuring the Garda vetting unit remains in a position to carry out its functions efficiently. That contact must take place against the background of the general strictures that apply to public service numbers. As the Deputy acknowledged, these appointments are temporary and they were always understood to be so. I want to emphasise that decisions taken on contract employees are not based in any way on developments relating to the JobBridge scheme. They are two separate matters but I accept the case Deputy Coonan made to me privately and the case the Deputy has made that these are skilled staff who have been engaged in this unit for some time and whose work is valued. However, they are temporary employees. Their contracts were previously extended at my request when they were about to expire earlier this year and I am aware the contracts of the ten people mentioned by the Deputy are due to expire shortly. That is a matter in respect of which I am engaged with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.