Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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143. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the fact that persons whose work involves visiting different schools, for example, a yoga instructor, must undergo separate Garda vetting in respect of each school they visit; her views on whether this is a waste of public resources; if she will arrange to put a system in place whereby such persons can be Garda vetted once for visits to different schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13577/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will appreciate that the primary purpose of Garda vetting is to seek to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults and it is carried out by An Garda Síochána primarily in accordance with the provisions of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016.

The Acts provide for a degree of flexibility which may lessen the administrative burden for the management of a school or other relevant organisation. Section 12 of the Acts makes provision for certain limited circumstances where organisations can share a single vetting disclosure where this is agreed to by the vetting applicant. The section also makes specific provision in respect of persons who may be employed on a recurring but non-continuous basis. The vetting obligations shall be regarded as satisfied where the registered organisation received a vetting disclosure in respect of the individual for the initial engagement.

The vetting process demands rigorous procedures to safeguard its integrity and to maintain the highest level of confidence by the public and organisations availing of the service. Given the importance of ensuring the safety of children and vulnerable adults, I believe that the current vetting requirements are not unreasonable.