David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this item and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, for being here to respond. I think this issue is fairly simple to rectify. It should not cost any money.

I have been approached on behalf of students working on ships who are required to go to sea in a training capacity. Many of these companies operate in Europe and are not registered here, but they require police certificate clearance. Police certificates state whether somebody has a criminal record. They are issued by the Garda in certain circumstances, solely for the following purposes. One is for foreign consular authorities, foreign visa applications, naturalisation applications and so on. Other reasons include establishing and registering a business in another EU member state; employment in EU institutions; and for development and humanitarian aid workers deployed overseas on behalf of an NGO. Another one, which I thought might be used in this case, is Irish citizens participating in or engaging in an accredited academic programme on a full-time basis for a minimum period of one academic year with a recognised third level education institution in the host state outside this jurisdiction.

Basically, these certificates are sought in other countries when people go abroad to work or live. None of those five criteria can be used for the purposes I am requesting.

Other jurisdictions issue police certificates for the purposes of training on ships but we do not do so here. The student in question was sent off to maybe get Garda vetting. However, Garda vetting is only used for people who work in Ireland with vulnerable children or adults. That will not work for the student. The final option is a subject access request. This comes under the GDPR regulations. This could be obtained but it specifically states that it is not a police certificate, nor is Garda vetting. The students I am talking about are stuck. They cannot get their berths on a ship to complete their training. I suggest that the Garda Commissioner and Minister make one small change to the five conditions by adding in this one. In other jurisdictions, if employers in foreign countries look for a police certificate, they can get it. That is not the case in Ireland.

I do not know what underpins these police certificates, whether it is legislation or regulations, and who decides on these five criteria. I have been chasing this matter for a while and I have not been getting very far. At the same time, the students in question are totally frustrated and may not be able to complete their training. Cobh is in my constituency and we have more and more cruise liners coming in to the harbour, up to 100 per year. There are lots of companies involved and there are fantastic opportunities for our young people. Ireland is a seagoing nation, or we should be because we are surrounded by water.

I ask that the Minister use her good offices with the Garda authorities to make these changes to allow these certificates to be issued to students in the circumstances I have outlined. It would make a huge difference to their lives and careers, would not cost any money and should fit in, broadly speaking, with the criteria already outlined. I look forward to the Minister's response.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I have vivid memories of my own father covering a Topical Issue matter one night and having the same response read out but that is for another day.

I thank the Deputy for raising this Topical Issue matter. As he correctly outlined, police certificates are issued for the following five purposes: the foreign consular authority and foreign visas; the establishing or registering of a business in another EU member state; employment in the EU institutions; development or humanitarian aid workers employed overseas; and, as the Deputy mentioned, Irish citizens participating in and-or engaging in an accredited academic programme on a full-time basis for a minimum period of one academic year with a recognised third level education institution in the host State. As the Deputy said, the fifth criterion is perhaps one that might suit the individuals the Deputy mentioned, but it clearly does not.

The Deputy has clearly done the groundwork, as the students have, in engaging with members of An Garda Síochána in this instance. We have had limited time to engage to enable us to respond this evening. In the interaction we have had with An Garda Síochána, the issuing of police certificates is done on a non-statutory basis. It seems that there is enough scope and flexibility within that for An Garda Síochána to include or expand that if it considered it possible. The initial conversations we have had suggest the Garda does not believe there is room for police certificates to be provided under the current rules in relation to the exact areas the Deputy mentioned. However, this is based on an early conversation we have had with the Garda and it is important that I speak directly with the Garda Commissioner or someone on his team to try to identify if this is an issue we can address as a matter of urgency. I appreciate there are people who need this now and it cannot wait until the next term or beyond.

I will give an absolute commitment to follow up with the Garda Commissioner to see whether it is something we can do, while obviously acknowledging that it is an operational matter for the Garda and one for the Garda Commissioner to decide, particularly if it is done on a non-statutory basis. There is clearly a gap here where certain individuals do not fit within the police certificate criteria and do not come under Garda vetting. As the Deputy stated, a subject access request would not be accepted by those the students wish to work for. In addition, An Garda Síochána does not recommend the use of subject access requests in this instance, so people find themselves in circumstances where there is nothing available that would be sufficient.

It would be interesting to get information on other countries or EU member states that provide this type of certificate. Perhaps the Deputy already has this information. We could look at how it is done in those countries and perhaps replicate what they are doing. Without overstepping my reach, it is important that I first speak with the Garda Commissioner to examine where we can go with this. I will certainly revert to the Deputy as quickly as I can.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for her response. I know the Garda Commissioner, having engaged with him in a previous role, and he is very reasonable. I am sure that when the Minister and Garda Commissioner have a conversation, they will be able to find a way of resolving this issue.

Other cruise liners and shipping companies across Europe also have these demands and they work with other jurisdictions, I am told, with no issues. They can get these police certificates from every jurisdiction except Ireland. It is a matter of changing the five rules we have in place here or adding a sixth to allow people who work on ships and cruise liners as part of the training to apply for and be given a police certificate. That is a requirement of these shipping companies for people to complete their training, get certification and have a career. This broadens their skill sets. We talk about skill sets here in Ireland. This is a way we can do it. It will not cost anything but it means somebody has to think about this and put something together.

The Minister has acknowledged that there is some urgency about this. As we speak, there are students waiting for this to be done. They are very frustrated and their careers could go down the Swanee unless this is sorted. I encourage and support the Minister in her work and in talking to the Garda Commissioner. Perhaps he is listening this evening and, knowing the man, he may already be working on this to get it done. It is a small matter but for these young people it is a very big and important matter.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I fully agree with Deputy Stanton. We are not talking about students going on holidays on a cruise liner. This is something different, which would benefit them for their entire lives. It is about their career and, unfortunately, through no fault of their own, they find themselves in a position where there is no police certificate or vetting procedure and nothing that would allow them to continue their training. I am sure this was never the intention when the various criteria were set out. They are quite broad criteria and one would assume they would cover most reasons for which people travel abroad, be that to work, study or for humanitarian reasons. Unfortunately, these individuals have found themselves stuck in this situation. I give a commitment to Deputy Stanton to speak to the Garda Commissioner as a matter of urgency to try resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Deputy and the Minister for raising this important matter and dealing with it so efficiently and pragmatically.