Written answers

Tuesday, 18 October 2016

Department of Education and Skills

Garda Vetting Legislation

Photo of Carol NolanCarol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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236. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps taken by his department to ensure that Garda vetting is undertaken in an efficient manner; if his Department has plans to review the Garda vetting requirements particularly to allow individuals to apply rather than schools or institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30373/16]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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In April 2016, the Minister for Justice and Equality commenced the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016 (the Vetting Act) which put in place  statutory requirements for the Garda vetting of persons involved in working with children and vulnerable adults.  

The Vetting Act applies not just to schools but to any relevant organisation that employs, contracts, permits or places a person in relevant work with children or vulnerable persons.  The Vetting Act does not provide for individuals to apply to the National Vetting Bureau for vetting but provides that vetting is conducted by the Bureau on foot of an application by a relevant organisation that is registered with it. The vetting legislation and the vetting procedures operated by the National Vetting Bureau fall within the remit of the Minister for Justice and Equality.  

In relation to schools, my Department engaged in extensive preparation work in anticipation of the commencement of the statutory vetting requirements for the schools sector. In that regard, my Department published a circular in April 2015 which outlined the advance preparations and actions to be taken by all school authorities and registered teachers so as to facilitate, as far as possible, a smooth transition to the statutory vetting requirements once they became operational.  

In addition, my Department brought forward legislation which amended the Teaching Council Act to provide, inter alia, for a statutory basis for the Teaching Council’s role in the statutory vetting of registered teachers and to enable the Teaching Council to put in place a streamlined mechanism for school employers to meet the requirements of the Vetting Act in respect of registered teachers.

When the vetting requirements were commenced last April, my Department also issued circular 0031/2016 which set out the statutory vetting requirements applicable to schools along with the practical arrangements in place to support the vetting procedures. A Frequently Asked Questions document was also published by my Department to assist schools with queries in respect of the circular.

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