Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 65: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps he is taking to speed up the turn around time of Garda vetting checks in view of the fact that delays are resulting in loss of earnings for individuals who are prohibited from officially taking up their full positions of employment until such time as the vetting application is completed. [13992/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that all vetting application forms received by the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) are processed in sequential order from the date of receipt. The current, average turnaround time for the processing of correctly completed vetting application forms is approximately one month. Significant departures from the average processing time occur only when further, more detailed enquiries are required in specific instances.

In order to meet the increased demand arising since 2006 from the ongoing major expansion in the provision of its vetting service, the GCVU has been in receipt of very significant additional resources. In particular, the human resource allocation to the Unit has increased from 13 originally to its current level of more than 60, with new personnel joining the Unit in each of the first three months of this year. When all these personnel have completed their induction and training, it is anticipated that processing times will be further reduced.