So, what is Garda Vetting?
Garda Vetting is a procedure through which An Garda is asked, with a person’s permission, to confirm whether or not that individual has been convicted of a crime. Employers use the procedure to ensure that individuals convicted of abuse or other crimes are not employed or offered other positions of responsibility for work with children, young people or vulnerable adults.
The Vetting Unit has complete access to criminal records in the Republic of Ireland and limited access in Northern Ireland and the UK. In Northern Ireland, under the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults Order 2003, there are systematic checks of convictions and other relevant matters. While the focus is on protecting children and vulnerable adults, there are also safeguards and due processes for those being vetted, including the right to appeal. An agreement between Ireland and Britain on sharing information on sex offenders is thought to be close and while this is welcome the situation in the two administrations is quite different.
In Ireland, it is an offence to apply for a job or to offer a service which involves access to children or mentally impaired people without first informing the prospective employer of any conviction for a sex offence. The Irish system has over 900 individuals listed on an offender register but does not have adequate monitoring mechanisms. The UK has sophisticated monitoring and supervision of the movement of sex offenders and others known to be a danger and its system includes hard information (of convictions) as well as soft information (of suspicion of posing a risk e.g. cautions, allegations, inquiries, arrests, and charges outstanding or pending). There have been calls recently to extend the UK model to Ireland and we will hear more about this in the debate on a constitutional amendment on children’s rights.
Increased demand of Garda vetting causes delays
To date, the GCVU has registered a number of agencies in the voluntary and statutory sectors to act as vetting organisations. It is estimated that the overall demand for vetting will reach over 400,000 applications each year, significantly higher than the number currently being processed. A lack of capacity partly explains why it takes so long – between 4 and12 weeks - to return a search result. In the future, the GCVU hopes to strengthen practices in relation to both overseas clearance and secure electronic transfer procedures to reduce the timescale for applications.
As part of the GCVU’s registration process, an agency providing vetting services must nominate an Authorised Signatory to liaise with An Garda and manage the workflow. Once approved, s/he undergoes induction and thereafter receives and checks application forms coming from employers and forwards them to the Vetting Unit for certification. When the results come back, s/he provides confirmation to the employer. Registration also requires compliance with a Code of Practice that covers Data Protection and operates within a natural justice framework.
The vetting provider is responsible for the security and safeguarding of any records that are kept, under the strict provisions of Data Protection laws. This is reasonable, given the sensitive and personal nature of the information that has to be provided by the applicant and the individual’s right to privacy. Records are generally destroyed once the employer is satisfied with the veracity of the results and has either provided ‘clearance’ for the individual or, if a disclosure is deemed too serious, withdrawn the offer of work. Within a natural justice framework, decisions should be made after any matter arising has been discussed with the applicant and fair procedures have been followed.
