Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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701. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the average waiting time for an application for Garda vetting to be processed. [16813/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The primary purpose of the employment vetting carried out by the National Vetting Bureau is to seek to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults. It 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 the vetting process and I am sure that the Deputy can appreciate the importance of this task and the need for it to be carried out thoroughly and correctly.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that An Garda Síochána's target turnaround times for approximately 85% of Garda Vetting Applications is five to ten working days from the date of receipt by the Garda National Vetting Bureau.

An Garda Síochána have advised that their current turnaround time for the vast majority of Garda Vetting Applications is eight working days. This is within the target turnaround times. These applications would not typically require further action or further enquiries to complete.

I am further advised that in a number of instances it is necessary to conduct enquiries with other Garda stations and external agencies such as the Courts Service, Probation Service, Tusla, etc. These enquiries are conducted for a number of reasons such as verification of identity; updating of incomplete records; and establishing outcomes of investigations. In such instances, processing times are inevitably longer than the general average.