Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom tacú leis na leasuithe seo atá á gcur chun cinn. I believe we strayed from the point on Committee Stage. The point made by Senator Power was that we wished to deal with people who are working with children in homes in a professional capacity as childminders. They should be included in the vetting procedures. Senator van Turnhout clearly outlined on Committee Stage the reasons this is desirable. Many abuse situations or situations of impropriety can happen where people are dealing directly with children in a more domestic setting. There is no good reason that people who are doing this as a profession or are working in a professional capacity for their main income or for monetary gain should not be included in this vetting. The aim of the vetting is to ensure that we will know if there is a risk of somebody doing something with children that he or she should not do, and we must ensure those people are not allowed next or near the children in a professional capacity. What is proposed is sensible and is within the ethos of what the Minister is trying to achieve. It should not be too onerous on the vetting bureau either. In any case, it should be good practice. I ask the Minister to accept the amendments.