Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, for coming to the House to respond to this important matter of the Garda vetting unit in Thurles, County Tipperary. I specifically refer to the recently allocated responsibility to manage an element of the updated child care regulations.

On 9 October last, the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, announced welcome new child care regulations. They were long overdue. This was informed by a wider consultation process that had taken place over a number of years. One widely welcomed aspect of the regulations was that staff, including voluntary staff, of pre-schools and crèches would have to be vetted. Surprisingly, crèche owners were only given until the end of this year to prepare for the new regulations which were due to come into force on 1 January next.

It occurred to me at the time that the vetting requirement, in particular, would put a great deal of pressure on the staff of the Garda vetting unit in Thurles. Accordingly, I tabled a question to the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform inquiring whether additional resources would be made available to the Garda vetting unit to allow it to carry out its additional responsibilities. The Tánaiste stated in reply that staffing levels at the Garda vetting unit were "adequate to meet existing and foreseeable demand".

Not long after, a letter was issued to a crèche owner in Dublin from a Garda inspector which stated:

Unfortunately, due to current agreed commitments to other organisations who have been waiting for Garda vetting services for some time, we cannot extend vetting to your organisation at present.

As I feared, crèches and pre-schools applying for vetting to the Garda vetting unit in Thurles would not be accommodated. The minimum time for processing a vetting application is two months. From October to December is only a three-month period so I did not see how it would be possible for the Garda vetting unit to process all the applications. Without these applications being processed, crèches and pre-schools would be considered to be in breach the law, not through their own fault but because of the Government's failure.

I read in The Sunday Business Post that the regulations will not now be implemented until September 2007. It is unacceptable that a Minister should announce regulations but not put in place the necessary resources to ensure those who are affected by them can operate efficiently. In effect, the Minister has not thought through the short timeframe provided for in the regulations.

Staff in Health Service Executive offices who handle child care inspections need to be trained. It is my understanding that no training has been scheduled before Christmas so the training will take place in the new year at the earliest. Surely the Government knew that when it published the new child care regulations. The situation is in disarray. I invite the Minister of State to explain how this has happened and to give an assurance on the matter so that the staff needed in the Garda vetting unit in Thurles are made available. Children will be affected by this lack of provision.

The requirement to vet staff is essential and one with which we all agree. Resources must be put in place to ensure this takes place. It is unacceptable that the implementation of the regulations has been postponed rather than the necessary staff provided. If it were the case that the postponement was until March, for instance, one could accept that the Minister may have made a mistake, but that is not the case. I look forward to the response of the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern. I have major concerns about this matter, the handling of which has been less than satisfactory. I am being kind in using that expression.