Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 February 2014
439. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the resources he has allocated to the Garda vetting bureau; the average waiting times at present for vetting applications; and his plans to improve efficiency and waiting times for applicants in the future. [6438/14]
View answerI am committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources to perform this most essential of tasks. In that regard, during 2013 I received sanction from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform for the redeployment of additional staff from the Department of Agriculture and Food to the Garda Síochána specifically to work in the Vetting unit.
I am informed that there are now 174 whole-time equivalent staff assigned to the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU), an 87% increase on the staffing level at the end of December 2012 when 93 staff were assigned to the GCVU. The number of vetting applications received by the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) each year has risen from 187,864 in 2007 to 381,082 in 2013.
I am also informed that the current average processing time for applications is approximately six weeks from date of receipt. Processing times fluctuate upwards and downwards depending on seasonal demands and volumes received, and on whether further enquiries have to be conducted with Garda Stations or other agencies. A number of recently deployed staff are still undergoing training and when this training has been completed, I expect there will be a further positive effect on vetting times.
The Deputy may also wish to note that the development of an e-Vetting solution is well underway. This will facilitate the processing of applications in an e-format, thus removing the time-consuming current process of manually managing applications received. In streamlining the overall vetting process in this jurisdiction, the new system will further contribute to reductions in processing times for all vetting applications.
