Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 572: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the proposals he has to establish a comprehensive vetting procedure for volunteers; if the appropriate resources will be made available to the Garda in order that vetting will be carried out without delay (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18965/05]

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 620: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the funding allocated to the Garda central vetting unit in 2005. [19328/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 572 and 620 together.

The Garda central vetting unit, GCVU, carries out criminal record vetting in respect of, inter alia, prospective full-time employees having access to children and vulnerable adults of the Health Service Executive and in certain agencies funded by the executive. The unit deals with approximately 100,000 vetting applications per annum.

The GCVU forms part of the Garda national support services branch and is located in Garda Headquarters. The GCVU is accounted for financially as part of one of a number of cost centres controlled by that branch so a separate and distinct budget does not exist for the unit. However, the financial resources allocated to the GCVU in 2005 are adequate to meet its current operating remit.

A phased extension of the GCVU's vetting arrangements to other groups and sectors involving substantial, unsupervised access to children and vulnerable adults will take place. To facilitate this, a working group was established to examine the issue of extending vetting arrangements. The working group submitted its final report in March 2004, and this report has since been published in electronic form on my Department's website.

On the basis of this report, my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, with special responsibility for children, Deputy Brian Lenihan, announced the provision of additional staff resources for the GCVU to enable the Garda Síochána's vetting services to be extended. In particular, staff numbers allocated to the GCVU will more than double, from 13 to 30.

The Minister of State's announcement implements one of the key recommendations of the working group. The other practical recommendations are being brought forward by an implementation group chaired by the Garda Síochána and comprising representatives of my Department, the Departments of Health and Children, Education and Science, and Finance, the Office of the Attorney General and Mr. Paul Gilligan, CEO of the ISPCC.

I am pleased to state that the extension of the services of the GCVU will commence later this year as soon as the necessary practical arrangements are in place, including those related to the decentralisation of the GCVU to Thurles, County Tipperary, as part of the Government's decentralisation programme. Public announcements in relation to the extension of services will occur in due course.