Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Perry, to the House.

Lorraine Higgins (Labour)
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I, too, welcome the Minister of State to the House to discuss this issue regarding Garda vetting. It is a central pillar of the Government's objective to have large numbers of those who are currently out of work gain meaningful employment as a means of rectifying our current economic crisis. I commend the efforts made by the Government in this regard, including the increase in foreign direct investment to our shores, the introduction of an action plan for jobs, a schools building programme and significant capital spending on infrastructure, as outlined in the July stimulus plan. However, as an Oireachtas Member for east Galway, I must focus on how Government and associated agencies can remove barriers to work for those in my constituency. I want to ensure that all my constituents have accessibility to the workforce and that boundaries and barriers to work are eliminated by the Government. For us to achieve anything of significance in this regard, we need to address the delay in processing of applications for Garda vetting.

I acknowledge and understand that the Garda Síochána are providing a great service in terms of ensuring a process of quality control and that it is of the utmost importance that nothing comes between those who want to work and employment. The fact that people are having to wait months for Garda clearance is acting as a barrier to entry into the workforce. In my home town of Athenry, some 63 students who are studying child care, health care, nursing and social studies in Athenry vocational school, who expected to undertake work experience a number of weeks ago as part of their course, have been unable to do so in circumstances where they have yet to receive Garda clearance. This means they are being significantly delayed in completing their courses and entering the marketplace for work.

Following on from my raising this issue in the Seanad yesterday, I was contacted by a self-employed man who told me he had to cease work for three weeks as he did not have the requisite Garda vetting for his business. It is fair to say he probably endured some degree of financial hardship as a consequence. This is a terrible indictment of our processes in Ireland and serves only to deter and discourage people from entering the workforce. We must be mindful that students and self-employed people are the people we expect to assist us in rebuilding Ireland. They are the ones who have not emigrated and want to work in or develop their businesses in Athenry, a town where currently 30 business units remain empty. I am sure this situation is being replicated throughout the country. Steps need to be taken to ensure that these delays are abated, if not eliminated.

John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Deputy Shatter.

The Minister is aware that apparent delays in the processing of vetting applications causes anxiety for those awaiting vetting certificates so that they can take up employment positions or voluntary roles. Both the Garda central vetting unit in Thurles and the Minister are acutely aware of the need to minimise the turn-around time for vetting applications. At a time when people are keen to get back into the workforce we must ensure that the vetting process does not interfere with this.

For the sake of clarity and to put the matter in context, I would like to outline the purpose of the vetting process. The Garda central vetting unit provides employment vetting for approximately 20,000 organisations in Ireland which are registered with the Garda for this purpose. These are organisations which employ persons working in a full-time, part-time, voluntary or training capacity with children and-or vulnerable adults. The primary purpose of the process is the protection of children and vulnerable adults. This is the paramount consideration. The number of vetting applications received up to September 2012 is 212,558, with an expected outturn for the year of 350,000. The number of applications dealt with during the past few years have increased, from 218,404 in 2008 to 315,100 in 2011. Garda vetting disclosures are made to registered organisations following the signed authorisation by a vetting subject permitting the Garda central vetting unit to disclose to the registered organisation details of all prosecutions, successful or not, pending or completed and-or convictions which may be recorded in respect of him or her in the State or elsewhere. Alternatively, the disclosure will state that there are no prosecutions or convictions recorded in respect of the person.

The function of the Garda central vetting unit is to make disclosure, in accordance with a written authorisation from the vetting subject, to the registered organisation. Decisions on the suitability of the person concerned rests at all times with the recruiting organisation to which a vetting disclosure is made. As I mentioned earlier, the vetting unit currently processes over 300,000 vetting applications per annum. The staff of the vetting unit are to be commended for their work in reducing the processing time for vetting applications, from some 12 to 14 weeks at the time the Minister was appointed in March 2011 to between two and three weeks by May 2012. This improvement was of enormous benefit to individuals and organisations throughout the State. However, the number of staff in the unit decreased by 20 between March and May this year as temporary staff contracts came to an end. This reduction in staff numbers has been partly offset by the redeployment of 15 clerical officers from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to a sub-office of the vetting unit in Ennis in May. The new staff have, at this stage, completed their training period. In the interim, however, processing times again increased and the current processing time vetting applications is eight weeks. Seasonal fluctuations such as the start of the school year and the necessity to seek additional information on particular applications can result in this processing time being exceeded on occasion.

The Garda central vetting unit, which will become the National Vetting Bureau and will have a substantially expanded role under new legislation, and the Minister are engaged in discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to ensure adequate staffing to meet these new demands.

Lorraine Higgins (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his succinct response on this matter. The system needs to be reformed as it is clear that there is a huge amount of duplication. A person wishing to work in the area of social services must satisfy Garda vetting requirements in this regard. Where such person also wishes to train a Gaelic or soccer team, he or she is required to make a further application for Garda vetting. It should be possible to streamline the process and to ensure a turnaround of one or two weeks, at most. I ask that the Minister consider this in light of my raising this issue here this evening.

John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I again thank the Senator for her interest in this matter. The processing of applications takes a certain amount of time, with processing of some applications taking longer than others. Every effort is made to limit, if not eliminate, the impact on individuals and registered organisations wishing to take on new employees or volunteers.

All organisations registered for Garda vetting are aware of the processing timeframes. The Minister, Deputy Shatter, appreciates very much the matter has been raised this evening. We will have new legislation and new staff. It is about getting people back to work and having proper procedures in place. The Minister is very aware of the issue. The outturn this year of 350,000 is a huge achievement by the staff who carry out the very detailed work involved in the vetting of individuals.