Written answers

Tuesday, 19 October 2010

Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform

Garda Vetting Services

9:00 am

Photo of Deirdre CluneDeirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 331: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform when an application for Garda vetting will be processed in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37149/10]

Photo of Dermot AhernDermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that a vetting application was received by the Garda Central Vetting Unit in respect of the person to whom the Deputy refers. A response to the application was returned to the registered organisation involved on 6 October, 2010.

Photo of Deirdre CluneDeirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 332: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the current waiting times for the processing of an application for Garda vetting; the number of persons currently on the waiting list for Garda vetting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37150/10]

Photo of Dermot AhernDermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) provides employment vetting for a large number of organisations in Ireland registered with the Gardaí for this purpose and which employ persons in a full-time, part-time, voluntary or training capacity to positions where they would have substantial, unsupervised access to children and/or vulnerable adults.

The GCVU has managed a substantial increase over recent years in the numbers of vetting applications it receives - 187,864 in 2007; 218,404 in 2008 and 246,194 in 2009. At present, there are approximately 60,000 vetting applications in the course of being processed.

The processing time for vetting applications fluctuates in line with periods of increased demand. Furthermore, additional time may be required to process an individual vetting application in cases where clarification is required as to the details provided or where other inquiries need to be made, for example, when the person in question has lived and worked abroad. There will always be a reasonably significant time period required to process a vetting application. Registered organisations have been advised to take account of this in their recruitment and selection process. However, the Gardaí make every effort to reduce the time to the minimum possible consistent with carrying out the necessary checks. I am informed by the Garda Authorities that the current average processing time for vetting applications received at the GCVU is approximately 12 weeks.

The allocation of Garda resources, including personnel, is a matter for the Garda Commissioner. Due to the high volume of applications, an additional ten persons have recently been recruited to the Vetting Unit on a temporary basis. In addition, overall staffing arrangements at the Unit are kept under review.

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