Garda vetting update - January 2012

January 2012: Position of Volunteer Ireland member Volunteer Centres

We regard Garda Vetting is an absolute requirement for individuals that, whether through employment, volunteering or training, have substantial, unsupervised access to children and/or vulnerable adults.

Garda Vetting is not ‘Garda Clearance’ and represents, where it is appropriate to use, but one aspect of the screening and selection process we recommend to organisations when recruiting volunteers. We recommend that organisations interview volunteers and conduct reference checks.

We support the Garda Vetting process whereby authorised signatories apply for vetting of an individual with their consent. Authorised signatories are individuals within organisations registered with the Garda Central Vetting Unit and who have been formally trained by them to submit applications in respect of consenting individuals and who manage any disclosures arising. In order to become a registered organisation, an organisation applies for registration with the GCVU. This process involves an organisation’s bona-fides being established and a person within the organisation being appointed for training and liaison. Organisations apply to have an authorised Garda Vetting signatory either so they can access Garda Vetting for individuals within their own organisation or on behalf of a consortia of organisations.

The demand for the services of GCVU has increased substantially since its inception in its current format in 2005. It is vital that applications for Garda Vetting are processed within a reasonable timeframe and we support recent measures by the Department of Justice and Equality to provide additional resources to the GCVU.

We further support the additional steps the Department is considering with a view to alleviating pressure on the GCVU, including improving and streamlining procedures and the introduction of legislation.

We appreciate that, by its very nature, processing Garda Vetting applications takes time and that certain circumstances (for example, where additional clarification is required) will add to the timeframe involved. We recommend that organisations requiring Vetting of individuals be mindful of this in their recruitment and selection processes.

We believe one month to be a realistic timeframe to aspire to and offer our support to the Department of Justice and Equality and the Garda Central Vetting Unit in carrying out this vital service.