John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 171: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the length of time it takes for police clearance for the employment by the Health Service Executive of a special needs assistant in the Ashbourne, County Meath area; the reason there is so much red tape and lack of co-ordination between the various agencies involved in securing this service; if he will acknowledge that this vital service needs to be streamlined to suit the needs of the people trying to access it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40139/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that the processing time within the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) in respect of valid applications for Garda vetting received from the Health Service Executive (HSE) is four weeks. Any further time frame involved in the filling of posts for which vetting is required is solely a matter for the recruiting organisations, which are aware of this Garda processing time and have been advised to factor it into the recruitment and selection procedures.

I do not accept the contention that there is 'red tape' and a lack of co-ordination in inter-agency co-operation in the vetting process.

Since the decentralisation of the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) in Thurles in November 2005, a significant streamlining of procedures to process vetting applications has occurred, and these have resulted in an improved service being provided to client organisations, including the HSE. I understand that there is ongoing, close co-operation between the GCVU and the HSE in processing vetting applications and that both bodies are committed to maintaining close links on the issue.