Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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331. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that persons whose work involves visiting different schools, for example a yoga instructor, has to undergo separate Garda vetting in respect of each school they visit; his views on whether this is a waste of public resources; if he will arrange to put a system in place whereby such persons can be Garda vetted once for visits to different schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13578/17]

Richard 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 persons.  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 provides that a relevant organisation must, other than in certain limited circumstances, obtain a vetting disclosure from the National Vetting Bureau prior to employing, contracting, placing or permitting a person to undertake relevant work with children or vulnerable adults.  However, Section 3 of the Vetting Act sets out that the Act does not apply to a person who is assisting at a school on an occasional and unpaid basis provided that assistance does not include the coaching, mentoring, counselling, teaching or training of children or vulnerable persons

The vetting legislation and the vetting procedures operated by the National Vetting Bureau fall within the remit of the Minister for Justice and Equality.  However, when the vetting requirements were commenced last April, my Department 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 Question (FAQ) document was also published by my Department to assist schools with queries in respect of the circular. 

The Vetting Act allows for some limited exemptions to the requirement under section 12(1) of the Vetting Act to obtain a vetting disclosure from the Bureau prior to employing, contracting, placing or permitting a person to undertake relevant work or activities with children or vulnerable persons.  Information about these exemptions are set out in sections 5.3 and 6.4 of my Department’s circular.