Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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206. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons, by county, currently waiting for their Garda vetting application to be processed. [8572/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the primary purpose of the employment vetting carried out by the National Vetting Bureau is to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults. I am sure the Deputy will appreciate the importance of this task and the need for it to be carried out thoroughly and correctly.

I am advised by An Garda Síochána that vetting is carried out by An Garda Síochána in accordance with the provisions of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 - 2016. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.

To be of assistance I have contacted the Garda authorities but have been advised that it is not possible to provide statistical information in respect of the number of vetting applications waiting to be processed by county, as such information would require a manual trawl of individual records and would involve a disproportionate use of resources.

For the Deputy's information, in 2023, the number of vetting applications processed by the Garda National Vetting Bureau (GNVB) was 588,690.

The current average turnaround time for processing vetting applications is 4 working days for 85% of applications.

I can confirm that the total number of applications currently with GNVB for processing is 13,266, as of 20 February, the latest date for when figures are available.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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207. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she has engaged with An Garda Síochána in respect of providing a blanket clearance for persons cleared by gardaí that can be used across multiple roles by the person; and if she will consider a time-limited certificate persons could present in lieu of separate Garda clearance requests. [8573/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the primary purpose of the employment vetting carried out by the Garda National Vetting Bureau is to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults. I am sure the Deputy will appreciate the importance of this task and the need for it to be carried out thoroughly and correctly.

Vetting is carried out by An Garda Síochána in accordance with the provisions of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 - 2016. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.

As the Deputy may be aware, 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 Vetting Bureau, officials from my Department, from Tusla, and from other relevant stakeholders.

The primary focus of the Group is on strengthening the vetting legislation in an effective manner, including any changes that may be possible in relation to multi-purpose vetting or re-vetting.

I expect to receive the Group’s report on arrangements for Garda Vetting in the context of the introduction of a statutory re-vetting regime early this year.