Written answers

Wednesday, 12 January 2011

Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform

Garda Vetting

2:30 pm

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 513: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform if a voluntary organisation (details supplied) in County Mayo will be entitled to garda vetting for their staff and volunteers; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the organisation applied to be considered for Garda vetting in late 2008 but was refused; the reason the matter has continued for this period despite assurances that it would be revisited as soon as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48301/10]

Photo of Dermot AhernDermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) provides employment vetting to 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 employment vetting service provided by the Gardaí has been expanded greatly in recent years as part of a phased programme to roll-out the service to an increasing number of organisations. Within this programme the vetting service has now been extended to over 18,000 organisations. The GCVU has managed a substantial increase over that period in the numbers of vetting applications it receives, from around 188,000 in 2007 to almost 325,000 in 2010.

Given the large number and wide range of client organisations, the registration process is managed through umbrella organisations which provide single points of contact. This ensures more effective co-ordination and improved quality control in the various sectors and a more efficient use of resources in the vetting process.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the organisation to which the Deputy refers was advised that it was not possible to extend the Garda Vetting service to them at that time. However, the objective of the GCVU is to register all relevant organisations and to extend the Garda Vetting service to them. The phased roll out of registration is continuing apace but I cannot say precisely when any particular organisation will be registered.

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