Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is amazing how time flies when one is enjoying oneself. The person could leave the environment within two or three weeks of being employed and must go through the vetting process again. It represents a disruption to the employer and the putative employee. It is important that the use of PPS numbers is provided for in the Bill. It would clean up the system as the next employer could check vetting using the PPS number. People would not have to go through a new application for Garda clearance.

My final point concerns childminders, who are not mentioned in the Bill. I plead for an acknowledgement that someone in the childminding area needs to be responsible.

I suggest the emergency officer who could be the spouse of the childminder or someone who was in the house and would be left in charge if the childminder had to leave the house would have to be vetted and that anyone in the house over 18 years of age would also have to be vetted because they would be dealing with children who were not of the house but were being taken care of by the childminder who was in loco parentis.

These are the points I have raised and I would be grateful if the Minister of State would address them.