Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Richmond for raising this issue. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald.

The primary purpose of the Garda National Vetting Bureau is to seek to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults. While every effort is made to make the system as efficient as possible, as is always desirable, it cannot be at the expense of this core function.Full vetting checks are conducted by the Garda vetting unit for each new vetting application received, to ensure the most recent data available are taken into account. This is because once there has been any significant lapse of time between one employment and another, the original Garda vetting disclosure must be reviewed to take account of any changes in information, such as more recent criminal convictions.

Furthermore, under the Data Protection Acts, any sensitive personal data which employers use in regard to their employees must be current, accurate and up to date. Importantly, the general non-transferability and contemporaneous nature of the current process also protects against the risk of fraud or forgery. There are certain limited circumstances where organisations can share a single vetting disclosure where this is agreed to by the vetting applicant, for example, persons involved in voluntary work with more than one organisation at the same time. Similar arrangements can arise in the health and education sectors.

The Tánaiste is, however, pleased to inform the Senator that 80% of vetting applications are now being processed by the National Vetting Bureau in five working days through a system that reflects best practice internationally. In circumstances where there is such a sustained reduction in processing times, the issue of vetting transferability becomes something of a moot point. This vast improvement on the turnaround times of 14 weeks in 2013 comes about primarily as a result of significant investment by the Government in the National Vetting Bureau, in particular, the launch in April this year of the bureau’s new e-vetting system. All organisations are encouraged to avail of this service and 85% of organisations registered for vetting already use it.

Some cases will of their nature take longer than the average to complete. Vetting applications that continue to be submitted in the old paper format take four weeks from the receipt of the application, and there will always be certain cases whose natures demand more extensive inquiry. Delays can also occur in the application process which are outside of the control of the bureau. In that regard, one very welcome feature of the e-vetting system is that it allows applicants to track the progress of their applications. The Garda authorities will continue to work with all organisations to bring them into the e-vetting procedure.