Nov. 08' - Arthur Duignan, Garda Vetting and The Arts

Summary

Practice.ie asked Arthur Duignan, Assistant Director and Authorised Signatory of Create, the national development agency for collaborative arts, to outline procedures involved in Garda Vetting for artists. The following article provides an overview of the vetting process as it applies to the arts in Ireland. View the print-friendly version of this article.

Garda Vetting and The Arts by Arthur Duignan

Introduction

There are good reasons why artists should understand the ‘criminal record disclosure certification process’, more commonly known as ‘Garda vetting’. In any context where an artists’ work is expected to involve significant contact with children, young people or vulnerable adults, they will be asked by the employer / host organisation to apply for Garda vetting. This will apply regardless of whether or not the artist is working full time, part time and/or in a voluntary or student placement capacity.

As a key element in the state’s provision for the protection and welfare of potentially vulnerable persons, the increasing availability of Garda Vetting is a welcome development. As an administrative reality, it is a complex and bureaucratic obligation that brings with it a great deal of uncertainty about how ‘clearance’ is to be achieved; who will take responsibility, exactly when vetting is required, and what it provides in terms of legal protection, if anything at all, for the artist or their employer/host organisation.

Garda Vetting is particularly common in the context of collaborative arts practice, including work with potentially vulnerable groups of people, and initiatives / projects / residencies that take place in arts venues, cultural institutions, health centres, and residential care and detention settings and other community facilities. Any artist expecting to work in these settings should be prepared for vetting to become a standard component of the recruitment process.

Of course, criminal record checks on their own will not ensure an applicant’s suitability for a position. There is still a duty of care on the employer to check references and CVs, which provide vital information that is not available through vetting, and to ensure adequate supervision and training post-appointment. Employers should only use vetting appropriately, and not indiscriminately, and if a position is deemed to require vetting this should be made clear in any advertisement or job brief.