Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 January 2005
160 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the measures in place for and resources dedicated to the vetting by gardaí of all persons working directly with children; if all such persons are currently vetted by gardaí and the vetting procedure; and if there are changes in procedure or resources planned within the lifetime of this Government. [2233/05]
View answerThe Garda central vetting unit, GCVU, was established in January 2002 to carry out criminal record vetting in respect of prospective full-time employees working primarily in the health care area and in certain designated agencies. The human resources assigned to the GCVU currently comprise one Garda sergeant, two gardaí, and nine civil servants, and the unit currently deals with approximately 100,000 vetting requests per annum.
When the GCVU became fully operational, it was envisaged that a phased extension of the vetting 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 adults.
The working group submitted its final report in March 2004, and this report has since been published in electronic form on my Department's web site. On the basis of this report, my colleague, Deputy Brian Lenihan, Minister of State with special responsibility for children, recently announced the provision of additional staff resources for the GCVU to enable the Garda Síochána's vetting services to be extended to all persons working with children and vulnerable adults.
The Minister of State's announcement implements one of the key recommendations of the working group. The other practical recommendations are being brought forward by an implementation group chaired by the Garda Síochána and comprising representatives of my Department; the Departments of Health and Children, Education and Science and Finance, the Office of the Attorney General and Mr Paul Gilligan, CEO of the ISPCC.
I am pleased to state that the extension of the services of the GCVU will commence in the course of this year, as soon as the necessary practical arrangements are in place, and public announcements will occur in this regard in due course.
