Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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961. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the engagements he or any Ministers of State in his Department have had with the Garda Commissioner in relation to delivering a new Garda station for Carndonagh, County Donegal. [16799/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will appreciate, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Commissioner is responsible for all decisions related to the Garda Estate and that such works are progressed by the Office of Public Works in close cooperation with the Garda authorities.  

I and my officials have engaged with the Garda Commissioner, members of An Garda Síochána and the OPW in relation to the delivery of the Garda capital programme, and the Garda Station modernisation programme, which includes a new station in Carndonagh.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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962. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the average delay for decisions to be made on Garda vetting applications; the steps he is taking to streamline the process because of the effect it is having on staffing resources in health settings especially; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16804/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 962 and 973 together.

As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including responsibility for the Garda vetting system. 

Additionally, the National Vetting Bureau Act 2012 makes it the responsibility of the Chief Bureau Officer of the Garda National Vetting Bureau (GNVB), to establish and maintain the database of the Bureau. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.

However, I am advised by An Garda Síochána that there are no backlogs or delays in Garda vetting. In 2022, the Garda National Vetting Bureau (GNVB) received over 549,000 applications, the highest-ever number.

I am further advised that from 1 January 2023 to date, the GNVB has received 154,445 vetting applications. This is a marked increase on the 145,768 applications received in the same period in 2022, with the Bureau working seven days per week in an effort to process the unprecedented numbers of applications. 

The Bureau cannot advise the average length of time it took to process an individual application. Nonetheless, the average turnaround time for vetting applications where there is no need to take any further action or make any further enquiries has, since the start of 2023, been seven working days. Therefore, applications are processed within the target turnaround time.

I am also informed that the turnaround time for standard vetting of hosts for Ukrainian families and aviation vetting continues to be one working day.

The Bureau advise that, in a number of instances, it is necessary for them to conduct enquiries for a multiplicity of reasons within An Garda Síochána and with relevant stakeholders. Therefore, processing times for such applications are significantly longer than the general average.

The Bureau has communicated with all relevant stakeholders to advise them of the current turnaround times and to assure them that they continue to process vetting applications as expeditiously as possible.

I can advise the Deputy that the Garda Vetting Review Group was established in April 2021 and meets regularly to discuss potential amendments to vetting legislation. This group includes members of the GNVB in An Garda Síochána, officials from my Department, from Tusla, and from other relevant stakeholders.

The primary focus of the Group is strengthening the vetting legislation in an effective manner, including any changes that may be possible in relation to multi-purpose vetting or re-vetting.  As per action 10 in Justice Plan 2023, which is available on the Department’s website, I expect to receive the Group’s report by the end of Q2.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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963. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality whether members of An Garda Síochána who are carrying out the same work as civilian members of An Garda Síochána are granted extensions to their retirement age under SI 335/1951, as amended, on the grounds that they are doing similar work, yet civilian staff can remain working until 65 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16814/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, civilian members of An Garda Síochána are civil servants of the Government. The terms and conditions of their employment, including details of their retirement, are a matter for the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.

As the Deputy will also be aware, the Government is committed to doubling the number of Garda staff to 4,000.  The purpose of this policy is, in part, to allow for the redeployment of highly skilled professional Gardaí from administrative to front-line policing roles.  As far as possible, Garda members should be assigned to posts requiring police powers or experience.