Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 March 2004
315 Ms M. Wallace asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will outline the present vetting procedures for persons who through voluntary work or paid employment have substantial unsupervised assess to children; the proposals his Department has to improve the present situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7646/04]
View answerGarda clearance arrangements apply in respect of candidates for paid employment in the health services where they would have access to children and vulnerable individuals. This includes services in respect of children and vulnerable adults provided by external agencies but funded by the health boards.
My colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, has informed me that, following a review of Garda vetting arrangements, a central vetting unit was established in January 2002 to deal with the then known demand for vetting. It was envisaged that when the unit became fully operational and all its backlogs were cleared that a phased extension of Garda clearance arrangements to other groups would take place.
To this end, a working group was established to examine the issue, taking account of all aspects of the vetting of persons coming in contact with children and vulnerable persons, be they full-time, part-time, voluntary or community workers or students on placement. The Department of Health and Children participated in the working group with the Garda Síochána the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Department of Education and Science and the Office of the Attorney General. The working group has completed its work and will report to the Garda Commissioner and, in turn, to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform in the near future.
It is worth stressing that, irrespective of whatever clearance arrangements are in place, it will continue to be necessary to bear in mind that criminal record checks, while being capable in appropriate circumstances of making a significant contribution to ensuring that unsuitable persons do not secure positions of trust, are not the sole answer to ensuring applicants' suitability for jobs particularly where children or other vulnerable persons could be open to abuse. There will continue to be a particular onus of care on employers and organisations to maintain good employment practice both during the recruitment stage, for example, good interviewing practice and checking references, and also when it comes to ensuring adequate supervision arrangements post-recruitment.
Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children recognises the need to support community and voluntary groups develop best practice in their dealings with children. A document, entitled Our Duty to Care, was published in by my Department in April 2002. It is based on Children First and is available to all groups. Essentially it promotes good practice and procedures for organisations dealing with children and consists of a booklet and fact sheets covering areas such as safe recruitment practice, developing safe management practices and policies and raising awareness of child abuse among volunteers and staff. It also provides advice on how to report concerns to the health boards.
