Written answers

Wednesday, 17 November 2010

Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform

Garda Vetting of Personnel

9:00 pm

Photo of Joe CostelloJoe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 163: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the reasons for the chronic delays in Garda vetting; the measures being taken to speed up the process; if he will provide extra personnel and resources in the forthcoming budget; the reason a person (details supplied) has been waiting since March 2010 for Garda vetting to enable them to take up employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43223/10]

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 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.

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.

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

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