Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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209. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the waiting times to receive Garda clearance; and the reason for delays. [47873/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased to inform that Deputy that at present, 80% of overall vetting applications are being processed by the National Vetting Bureau in five working days.

This efficiency has been achieved by the deployment of the e-vetting system which facilitates the on-line processing of applications for vetting from registered organisations. Currently the overwhelming majority of the vetting applications received at the National Vetting Bureau are received via the e-vetting system.

The National Vetting Bureau has offered the e-vetting system to all registered organisations and remains in a position to bring any organisation currently using paper applications onto the e-vetting system with immediate effect.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the turnaround times for vetting applications submitted by organisations who have not engaged with the e-vetting system and who are still submitting paper applications is 4 weeks for 80% of paper applications received.

I am further informed that processing times for any given application can be longer in individual cases when, for example, additional enquiries may be necessary or where errors have been made in the application. It is important to note that delays can also occur in other aspects of the application process which are outside of the control of the Garda Authorities, for example, in the submission or return of applications by the registered organisations.

The primary purpose of the vetting service is to seek to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults. Accordingly, 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. Any vetting process will take a certain minimum amount of time to complete and, taking into account the importance of protecting children and vulnerable adults while providing an effective and efficient service, the current processing period is not unreasonable.