Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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277. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason the process time for Garda vetting has increased recently; the measures he has taken to reduce the time back to the recommended guide of five to six days; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22587/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, the processing of vetting applications by the Garda National Vetting Bureau is an operational matter for the Garda Authorities and is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012-2016 and other relevant law. My Department has no role in the processing of individual vetting applications.

I am informed by the Garda Authorities that the National Vetting Bureau works to ensure that the processing time for vetting applications is kept to the minimum necessary in order to ensure that the statutory obligation to receive a vetting disclosure prior to permitting any person to undertake relevant work or activities on behalf of an organisation can be facilitated without undue delay.

Across 2017 and the first quarter of 2018, the National Vetting Bureau placed an emphasis on encouraging relevant organisations to meet their statutory obligations with regard to completing retrospective vetting arrangements, the deadline for which was 30 April 2018.

While the National Vetting Bureau has the capacity to process large volumes of vetting applications over a sustained period, the retrospective vetting deadline resulted in a significant short-term increase in the volume of vetting applications received in the first quarter of this year which has resulted in the turnaround time increasing in excess of the 5-6 days target. Additional resources have been applied to address this additional demand and it is envisaged that turnaround times will reduce to the target time in the short term.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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278. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if Garda vetting requests (details supplied) will be expedited to ensure applicants do not miss out on job opportunities. [22588/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, the processing of vetting applications by the Garda National Vetting Bureau is an operational matter for the Garda Authorities and is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012-2016 and other relevant law. My Department has no role in the processing of individual vetting applications.

I am informed by the Garda Authorities that a vetting application was received by the National Vetting Bureau from a registered organisation in respect of the first person referred to by the Deputy on 17 April 2018. This application was processed and returned to the registered organisation on 17 May 2018.

I am further informed by the Garda Authorities that a vetting application was received by the National Vetting Bureau from a registered organisation in respect of the second person referred to by the Deputy on 10 May 2018. This application was processed and returned to the registered organisation on 18 May 2018.

In respect of certain applications, it is necessary for the National Vetting Bureau to conduct further enquiries, for example to confirm information provided by the applicant, with external bodies and the time required to receive such information may be outside of the control of the vetting bureau. In such instances processing times may be significantly longer than the general average.