Authorised staff from the Department of Social Protection are in touch with the Garda Central Vetting Unit on a regular basis. At present over 1,200 applications to the Central Garda Vetting Unit from Community Employment (CE) are awaiting approval. It is however worth noting that there has been an increase of 43% in the volume of CE applications for Garda Vetting this year.
The Department of Justice estimates that the current average processing time for applications is approximately 12 to 14 weeks from the date of receipt of the application. However, it advises that, seasonal fluctuations and the necessity to seek additional information on particular applications can result in this time frame being exceeded.
In response to increase demands in garda vetting additional resources have been allocated to the Garda Vetting Unit to address this matter. It is expected that the delays in vetting will reduce over the next number of months as the new staff are deployed.
In the interim, to ensure that the services supported by CE are not disrupted as a result of the current delays in the vetting process, Department of Social Protection staff have been told to exercise flexibility and sanction extensions of employment where sponsors can demonstrate that such extensions are necessary.
The Department will continue to monitor the situation and provide guidance to sponsor organisations on rescheduling their recruitment process to better anticipate delays in garda vetting.
