David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste would emphasise that the purpose of Garda employment vetting is to seek to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults. The vetting process demands rigorous procedures to safeguard its integrity and maintain the highest levels of confidence in among from the public and organisations availing of the service. The answer to the question is that the vetting has to be done on an individual basis.

Any vetting process will take a certain minimum amount of time to complete and, given the importance of this service, the Tánaiste does not consider that a processing time of five days is at all unreasonable. E-vetting has significantly contributed to improving the vetting service and the Government and Garda authorities are committed to sustaining that level of service in the future. Most organisations have signed up to e-vetting and there are great benefits for them and vetting applicants.

As previously indicated, individuals can track their applications on the system. The Garda Vetting Bureau works with registered organisations on an ongoing basis to maintain quality and standards in respect of the process. The Garda authorities continue to work with other registered organisations to bring them on board. There have been significant improvements and many resources have been put into the system. The report we have received from the Garda authorities shows that the system is working. I thank the Senator for giving us the opportunity to discuss this very important matter today.