Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for dealing with the matter. The National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 makes it mandatory for people working with children or vulnerable adults to be screened by the Garda National Vetting Bureau. This provision is necessary and prudent and is welcomed by all organisations working with the young and with vulnerable people. It means that adults in roles such as teaching, youth work, sports coaching and nursing, those working in church organisations and many others are now obliged to have Garda clearance. While this is positive, the fact an individual has to make a unique application for vetting clearance for each organisation seems an unnecessary duplication of effort and is an example of how the procedures are designed to suit the system rather than to accommodate the volunteer or the staff member.

A young woman I know had to have Garda vetting for her college course. She had to be vetted again because she is involved in a church group, vetted a third time because she is involved in the Irish Girl Guides, vetted a fourth time because she teaches English as a foreign language in her spare time and, would you believe, vetted a fifth time because her family keep Spanish students. All of these accreditations are identical. They all say that she has no criminal conviction and that there is no concern she will harm a child or put a child at risk. They all say the exact same thing. When she asked me why she cannot just have one card that proves she has been vetted and cleared, I could find no logical answer for her. At the moment this woman, who has much to offer her local community and who understands and supports the need for vetting, is being asked, like many others, to jump through multiple hoops unnecessarily.

This can be offputting and serve to discourage people from taking additional voluntary roles in the community. I will agree that the application procedure has speeded up considerably in recent years, particularly with the introduction of online application vetting. However, with 3,000 applications a month, I believe it makes more sense to have a single vetting card issued to an individual which would be valid for a fixed period of time and would be used in multiple contexts, as happens in other countries.

There is an issue which is coming to a head at present involving 32,000 teachers who have worked in the same schools since before 2006, when vetting became compulsory. They all now need to apply for vetting before the end of the month. The Teaching Council is concerned that, based on current trends, as many as 600 teachers may lapse from its register and, therefore, face loss of salary. Many of these 32,000 teachers already have Garda vetting clearance for other activities in which they are involved. It seems ridiculous that this cannot be used for their teaching.

Vetting is essential but unnecessary complication is not. There are lots of excuses as to why a more streamlined vetting system cannot be put in place but there is no good reason. I ask the Minister of State, the line Minister and the Department to review the current procedure without delay with a view to making it more user-friendly. We need a system that not only protects children but one which removes unnecessary barriers for those wishing to help and support those same children.

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, I thank Senator McFadden for raising this issue in the House. Unfortunately, she cannot be present and I am here in her place.

As the House will appreciate, the primary purpose of Garda vetting is to seek to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults. Every effort is made to make the system as efficient as possible but that cannot be at the expense of the core objective. In accordance with the provisions of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016, vetting is conducted by the Garda National Vetting Bureau in respect of a range of employments and services where persons would have substantial and unsupervised access to children and vulnerable adults. It is necessary for the Garda National Vetting Bureau to conduct full vetting checks for each new vetting application received to ensure that the most recent data available is 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.

I am pleased to inform the Senator that the vast majority of vetting applications are now submitted and processed via the eVetting system and that 80% of the applications are now being processed by the Garda National Vetting Bureau in five working days. In circumstances where there is such a sustained reduction in processing times, the problems presented in individual cases of re-vetting or vetting transferability are very significantly reduced. This sustained improvement in processing times has come about primarily as a result of significant investment by the Government in the Garda National Vetting Bureau and, in particular, following the launch in April this year of the new eVetting system.All organisations are encouraged to avail of this service and indeed 85% of organisations registered for vetting are already using it. Some individual cases will of their nature take longer than the average to complete when, for example, more extensive inquiries are required. However, these cases are in the minority. It is important to note also that the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016 provide for a degree of flexibility which may lessen the administrative burden in respect of vetting for the management of organisations that work with children and vulnerable adults.

Section 12 of the Acts makes provision for certain limited circumstances where organisations can share a single vetting disclosure in respect of an individual application where there is agreement with the vetting applicant. This is a particularly important flexibility in respect of persons working, for example, in the health or education sectors as locums or substitute teachers. Section 12 of the Acts also makes specific provision in respect of persons who may be employed on a recurring but non-continuous basis. This could comprise persons who might provide services in a school or a number of schools on a regular basis. The vetting obligations in respect of these persons shall be regarded as satisfied where the registered organisation received a vetting disclosure in respect of the individual for the initial engagement.

Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State and I appreciate that this is not necessarily her portfolio. It is absolutely vital that we and the public have confidence in the vetting process. Nobody denies the absolute need for it, bearing in mind what we have been through in this country between the church and situations like Áras Attracta in the past. It is absolutely vital. However, I believe that a passport type situation or a card valid for one year would make more sense. The person I spoke to the Minister of State about had five different applications. That is duplication of work. One application could have looked after that situation for a whole year and reduced the work. I think it would have been more cost effective for the State and much easier for people who want to start jobs but have to wait because of the Garda vetting. It is duplication and a waste of money, but nobody denies the absolute need for it.

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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I will not read the concluding remarks because they have already been said in the initial response. If Senator McFadden would like to give me the details of that particular applicant, I will make sure that the Minister has a look at it herself. I will pass it on to her. Regarding the other points the Senator raised, I will also bring those to the Minister's attention.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State and Senator McFadden. It is a very popular issue. I have heard from many sources that it is a problem.