Vol. 488 No. 2
178 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the practice of some Garda stations of charging £5 to voluntary youth organisations to run checks for vetting potential staff; and if he will instruct the gardaí to provide this socially important service free of charge, in view of the voluntary nature of these organisations and the fact that they are invariably pressed for cash. [6006/98]
In accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act, 1988, the Garda Síochána process requests under section 4 of the Act from individuals for copies of "personal data" relating to them. This includes any criminal convictions that may be recorded against them. It has been noted that many such requests fall into the category of "enforced subject access", i.e. where the individual making the request only does so at the behest of a prospective employer.
The £5 fee is the amount as determined by Data Protection (Fees) Regulations, 188, Statutory Instrument No. 347 of 1988. The fee is payable by the individual making the request for "data" and not the voluntary organisation offering employment. The fee is levied centrally by the Garda Síochána, individual Garda stations have no discretion in the matter.
I would like to make it clear that the information provided to an individual under the Data Protection Act, does not constitute a Garda certificate of character, a Garda certificate of reference or Garda clearance. It is simply a record of information relating to criminal convictions which may be held on computer by the Garda Síochána in the case of any particular individual.
