Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his very detailed response. Some of its elements were reassuring, but I must take issue with other elements of the reply. If it were the case the procedure takes five working days I would not have tabled this Commencement matter. I would not receive so many phone calls from service providers, schools or sports clubs. Does this mean five working days is spent on vetting? What is the all-in process time, from the moment the application is made until the vetting is granted? There is absolutely no way it is being processed in five working days. The figure from 2013 of 14 weeks is a far more accurate reflection of the queries I receive, which are from people using the e-vetting system. I also take issue with the fact paper applications supposedly take four weeks.

In the coming weeks, will the Minister of State see whether the Tánaiste will come back to me to detail this process and see where it could be ironed out? If the five working days information is accurate, and I query it, there is absolutely no reason for transferability, and I agree with the Minister of State on this, but I remain convinced it is not accurate. We have people in positions, be it teaching in schools, coaching or working with children in various clubs or associations, who are active and the vetting is being put into practice, but they cannot transfer to another body. This is an area where we could remove an element of duplicity, particularly in real-time. I am not speaking about someone who was vetted four or five years ago, but someone who was vetted several weeks ago and is still working in a school or club setting. It is ideal that their vetting should be able to be transferred to another body.