John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter. Garda vetting has been an issue for a number of years. We all recognise the need for it for those who work with children and vulnerable adults.

I am bringing this up today, however, because of the length of time it takes to get clearance. In February, 25 new people joined the vetting unit and last November the wait was down to five weeks. I was contacted by someone yesterday who has been waiting for eight weeks and was told he would have to wait another six weeks. I met Deputy Connaughton and he told me of a person who had to give up a FÁS position because his clearance did not come through.

Last week the co-ordinator of a sports coaching programme in Mayo called "Goal to Work" saw 12 unemployed people become qualified coaches in GAA, soccer and rugby. The course was delivered in Castlebar, Ballina and Ballyhaunis. Each of the coaches had to coach the different games and had to secure Garda clearance for each of the different disciplines. Instead of 24 people getting their clearance, 72 clearances had to be issued, even though these were the same people and, in many cases, they were coaching the same children.

I remember a term from way back, GUBU: grotesque, unbelievable, unprecedented and something else.

This is crazy, but it gets worse. When that course finished, one of those to whom I refer was subsequently offered a position as an activities co-ordinator at another venue. The person had been vetted on three separate occasions already. He is the person who is waiting eight weeks and has been told that he must wait another six weeks because he got a community employment scheme as a sports co-ordinator and he must be vetted again. The duplication of the vetting is something that must be dealt with. I will leave it at that.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting the issue and acknowledge the presence of the Minister of State, Deputy McGinley.

I will not repeat what Deputy O'Mahony has said, but this has come to light in my office as well in the recent past. There is a sense of frustration that constituents are being delayed unnecessarily, particularly on the conditions that have changed for the Department of Social Protection on involvement in community employment schemes. It is no exaggeration to state that some community employment schemes in my constituency are at the brink of collapsing because of the delays due to Garda vetting.

I would be the first person to say that Garda vetting needs to take place, particularly for vulnerable adults and children, but the system needs to be reformed and modernised. For example, once one is vetted by the Garda and one does not change profession or change one's place of employment, one is never vetted again. Something could happen in the interim and it does not appear anywhere.

One simple measure could be taken. At some point, everybody in this country will be issued with a biometric card and it has come to the stage where we need to have people's PPS numbers linked to either the Courts Service or another agency that can ensure the system of Garda vetting is a living and ongoing process, and that as something happens, one does not wait for a person to lose his or her job and having to go through the same rigmarole, taking another eight weeks. Also, potential employers, with the consent of the person, should be able to access a website securely to see the Garda vetting status of the individual.

The process takes far too long. We can channel as many staff into it as we want, but the concept of the system needs to be looked at as well. Unless the system is living and unless it is constantly changing and evolving with information being fed in from the Courts Service, the Garda and others, we will continue to experience these problems.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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I am responding on behalf of Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, who regrets he is unable to be here. I thank the Deputies for raising this important matter. Since his appointment, the Minister has given priority to doing all he can to ensure the vetting process operates efficiently and applications are dealt with as quickly as possible.

We should not be under any illusion about the scale of what is involved. The Garda central vetting unit provides employment vetting for approximately 20,000 organisations in Ireland, registered with the unit for this purpose, which employ personnel to work in a full-time, part-time, voluntary or student capacity with children and-or vulnerable adults. The unit processed approximately 328,000 vetting applications on behalf of these organisations in 2012.

There are 94 personnel assigned to the Garda central vetting unit. The current average processing time for applications is approximately 12 weeks from date of receipt. However, seasonal fluctuations and the necessity to seek additional information on particular applications can result in this processing time being exceeded on occasion. All organisations registered for Garda vetting are aware of the processing timeframes for the receipt of Garda vetting and have been advised to factor this into their recruitment and selection process.

In order to observe equity and fairness in respect of all applicants for Garda vetting, standard procedures are such that applications are processed in chronological order from the date of receipt at the central vetting unit. A vetting disclosure is made in response to a written request and with the permission of the person who is the subject of that request. Garda vetting disclosures are issued to specified organisations registered with the vetting unit for that purpose in respect of a particular post or employment. The disclosure is made to the requesting registered organisation of the position at the time when it is issued.

Each time a new vetting application is received, a full vetting check is conducted to ensure the most recent data available are taken into account. The non-transferability and contemporaneous nature of the certificate protects against the risk of fraud or forgery and is a guarantee of the integrity of the vetting service. It also affords the registered organisation the facility to assess suitability based on the most up-to-date information available on the applicant. It is worth emphasising that the primary purpose of the vetting process is the protection of children and vulnerable adults and this must remain the case.

The Minister has been pursuing all options to ensure that adequate resources are available to the vetting unit. I believe the Deputies will welcome the fact that following discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, sanction was granted for an additional 25 staff to be redeployed from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to the Garda central vetting unit in the near future. This should clearly have a positive effect on matters.

The Minister has asked me to assure the House that it will remain a priority to ensure that vetting applications will be dealt with as quickly as possible.

John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for the reply. I wanted to give credit to the Minister, Deputy Shatter, because he had the processing time down to five weeks in November last. Regardless of whether it is the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 that is causing the problem, the issue is the duplication of vetting that is needed. I would ask the Minister of State to bring that message back.

I note from the reply that the average processing time is 12 weeks. I understand the Department of Social Protection will not allow vacancies in community employment schemes to be advertised within approximately eight weeks of the roll-over of schemes. There is a contradiction here. If there are appointments made to a CE scheme or a job offered, those concerned will not know that until eight weeks before they are due to take up office. Maybe it is in that context that some of these appointees cannot take up the positions.

I thank the Minister of State and ask him to convey those specific issues to the Minister, Deputy Shatter.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I accept fully the need for Garda vetting. I think everybody does. The problem is that when there is a change in criteria laid down by a publicly funded organisation such as the Department of Social Protection for community employment and it does not take account of the 12 week time delay for Garda vetting, as in my case in County Limerick and probably every constituency, community employment schemes cannot fill vacancies in the timeframe because of the delays associated with Garda vetting. That is the first aspect of my point.

The second aspect, which is equally important, is that this is not a continuous living process. Once one is vetted and one does not change or move job, one is never vetted again. That system needs to be looked at. There needs to be a continuous system. It needs to be joined up, between the Department of Social Protection, the Courts Service and the Garda, to ensure that if something happens after a person is vetted, such information is properly fed in and that potential employers would have access to a much easier streamlined system than what is there, which is cumbersome, archaic and taking far too long.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for their comments and assure them that these will be brought to the Minister's attention. I hope it is clear from the reply that the Minister acknowledges the importance of this matter and that in the near future there will be 25 personnel transferred from another Department to work in the Garda vetting unit. The Deputies can be assured that the Minister will continue to make every effort to ensure the system is in a position to operate as efficiently as possible. As a practising politician, I recognise and acknowledge the validity of the points that have been made.