Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 September 2010
916 Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Justice and Law Reform if there is a backlog in applications awaiting approval by the Garda Vetting Office; the length of time it is taking to process applications; if additional resources will be made available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32053/10]
Amharc ar fhreagra923 Deputy Alan Shatter asked the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the number of applications for vetting awaiting decision or clearance as at the 1 September 2010; the month in respect of which such vetting applications were first received; and if he will detail the current waiting period for vetting assessments to be completed. [32154/10]
Amharc ar fhreagra932 Deputy John O’Mahony asked the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the number of applications awaiting processing by the Garda Central Vetting Unit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32237/10]
Amharc ar fhreagra933 Deputy John O’Mahony asked the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the average length of time taken to process an application in the Garda Central Vetting Unit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32239/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 916, 923, 932 and 933 together.
The Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU) provides employment vetting for a large number of organisations in Ireland registered with the Gardaí for this purpose and which employ persons in a full-time, part-time, voluntary or training capacity to positions where they would have substantial, unsupervised access to children and/or vulnerable adults.
The GCVU has managed a substantial increase over recent years in the numbers of vetting applications it receives — 187,864 in 2007; 218,404 in 2008 and 246,194 in 2009. At present, there are approximately 60,000 vetting applications in the course of being processed.
The processing time for vetting applications fluctuates during the year due to seasonal demands when the volume of applications received from certain sectors can increase. Additional time may be required to process an individual vetting application in cases where clarification is required as to the details provided or where other enquiries need to be made, for example, when the person in question has lived and worked abroad. There will always be a reasonably significant time period required to process a vetting application. Registered organisations have been advised to take account of this in their recruitment and selection process. However, the Gardaí make every effort to reduce this to the minimum possible consistent with carrying out the necessary checks. I am informed by the Garda Authorities that the current average processing time for vetting applications received at the GCVU is in the region of ten to 12 weeks, given that demand is particularly high at present.
The allocation of Garda resources, including personnel, is a matter for the Garda Commissioner. Due to the high volume of applications, an additional ten persons have recently been recruited to the Vetting Unit on a temporary basis.
