Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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436. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason a person (details supplied) is being treated as if they were convicted of a crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1065/19]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The processing of vetting applications by the 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. I have no role in the processing of individual vetting applications.

With regard to the application of the Probation Act, I am informed that there are circumstances in which the application of the Act may be disclosed. Section 1(2) of the Probation Act allows the court to apply the provisions of the Act to a person who has been convicted on indictment of any offence punishable with imprisonment. Accordingly, court outcomes which result in Section 1(2) of the Probation of Offenders Act 1907 being applied are recorded as convictions. This being the case, the application of the Act may be disclosed in the vetting procedures.

The Deputy will appreciate that while it is the role of the National Vetting Bureau to provide vetting disclosures, it is for individual employers to determine their own vetting requirements and to assess the relevance of disclosed convictions to the vacancies they seek to fill. Therefore, it is not necessarily the case that the disclosure of a previous conviction to a potential employer means that the employer will automatically not consider a person for employment.