Vol. 557 No. 6
55 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Health and Children the steps in place to ensure that all staff employed at centres for children operated by the health boards are subjected to Garda checks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22907/02]
Directions on the recruitment and selection of staff to children's residential centres were issued by my Department in November 1994. Under these directions employers must obtain Garda clearance on all staff being considered for appointment to a children's residential centre. In September 1995, these directions were extended to the recruitment of staff to any area of the health services where they would have substantial access to children and vulnerable individuals. The directions include standard documentation to be used as part of the Garda clearance procedure. The directions also stress that it is important that employers validate information supplied by candidates and verify references proactively.
I understand from my colleague the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, that, as a result of a review by the Garda Commissioner, it was decided that a central vetting unit would be set up to deal with the known demand for clearances. The unit commenced operation in January 2002. Since the unit commenced operating it has dealt with in the region of 69,000 vetting and data protection requests. It has also reduced the length of time taken to process vetting requests for Irish workers to within a period of three weeks.
The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Garda Síochána are now in discussions seeking ways of extending the service in the child care area to cover, for example, community workers, part-time employees, etc. My Department has been informed of these discussions and will be kept up to date on developments. It is hoped to achieve some early progress in the matter.
I understand that Part 4 of the Sex Offenders Act, 2001, obliges convicted sex offenders – which includes persons convicted abroad as well as in this jurisdiction, and before as well as after the commencement of the Act – when seeking or accepting employment or a voluntary position involving unsupervised access to children, to inform their prospective employer of the fact of the conviction. Failure to do so is an offence attracting a maximum penalty, when convicted, of a fine not exceeding €12,697 and/or imprisonment for up to five years. This new offence, which came into operation on 27 September 2001, along with the rest of the Act, is designed to act as a deterrent to unsuitable persons from seeking to gain access to children through the workplace, where relationships based on trust or fear can develop.
