Vol. 561 No. 2
226 Ms Enright asked the Minister for Education and Science the arrangements his Department has in place for ensuring criminal record checks and background checks for people working with children in the education sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3925/03]
Employment of school staff is primarily a matter for the boards of management of schools who have a statutory responsibility in this regard. School authorities have a duty of care to their pupils and normal practice is to insist on letters of reference from previous employers before offering a position. However, the schemes governing bus escorts and supervision and substitution arrangements for post-primary schools both require appointees to be vetted by the Garda Síochána. The procedure involves the proposed appointee signing a form of consent to his-her proposed appointment being sent for Garda clearance. In addition, under the Sex Offenders Act 2001, it is an offence for a person who has previously been convicted of a sexual offence to apply for a position that involves access to children. My Department's own guidelines for dealing with allegations and suspicions of child abuse have also recently been revised in consultation with the education partners and copies have been issued to all primary schools and in-service training has been provided to primary school teachers to support these.
