Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 193: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the arrangements in place to enable the central Garda vetting unit to contact the British authorities to carry out child protection checks on prospective employees; the reciprocal vetting arrangements in place throughout the European Union among European Union jurisdictions; and the steps being taken to provide such arrangements. [15329/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) provides employment vetting for a number of organisations in Ireland which are registered with the GCVU and which employ people to work with children and/or vulnerable adults.

In respect of vetting applications which contain addresses in Northern Ireland a reciprocal arrangement is in place with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and results received are disclosed to the relevant registered organisation concerned. A Memorandum of Understanding is currently being negotiated with the Disclosure Scotland agency with a view to putting in place a reciprocal arrangement for vetting requests. Discussions are also ongoing with the Criminal Records Bureau of England and Wales to agree a similar Memorandum of Understanding.

Details of foreign convictions received from EU States within the framework of European mutual assistance in criminal matters are entered on the Garda criminal records database and they are disclosed in the vetting process of the individual concerned. Earlier this month the Houses of the Oireachtas agreed that Ireland may take part in the adoption of a proposed EU Council Framework Decision on the organisation and content of the exchange of information extracted from criminal records between Member States. It is expected that this proposal will be submitted for adoption by the Council over the coming months.

The proposed Council Framework Decision follows on from the adoption in 2005 by the Council of a Decision on the exchange of information extracted from criminal records which supplements the relevant provisions of the 1959 European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.