John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 256: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the reason for the inordinate delay in the processing of Garda clearance applications; if he will consider taking immediate steps to relieve the backlog of applications as the future job opportunities of the applicants are threatened in some cases due to the delay; if he will expedite an application for clearance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42939/10]

Dermot 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 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 enquiries 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 this 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.

I am further informed by the Garda Authorities that the Garda Central Vetting Unit has not received a vetting application in respect of the person referred to. In the circumstances, I can only suggest that the person seeks clarification from the organisation submitting the application.