Minister pledges overhaul of Garda vetting in reply to Sligo councillors

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

Following calls from three Sligo Councillors, for the Garda vetting system to be streamlined when they tabled motions on the matter at the May meeting of Sligo County Council, Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan has replied confirming he believes the system needs to be updated.

Cllr Ann Higgins, Cllr Gino O’Boyle and Cllr Thomas Walsh had raised issues about the system.

Correspondence to the Local Authority on behalf of the Minister stated, “I note the concerns that have been raised by Sligo County Council regarding Garda Vetting and the issues noted within the sporting sector.”

“The primary purpose of vetting carried out by the Garda National Vetting Bureau (GNVB) is to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults. This requires a robust Garda vetting process that reassures the public, and in particular parents, that appropriate checks are conducted on people taking on positions of trust.”

The correspondence from Ellen Byrne, Private Secretary to the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration added, “The Minister is aware that concerns have been raised regarding certain aspects of the Garda vetting process, particularly by the sporting and voluntary sectors. The Government have met directly with the Sports Federation of Ireland on this matter, and the Department has also received correspondence from a range of voluntary organisations.

“The Minister is conscious that aspects of the current vetting system result in a highly-segmented process. Furthermore, he believes that the vetting system should be updated to ensure that the burden of seeking vetting disclosures, particularly on volunteers and organisations working in their communities, is minimised to the greatest extent possible, while maintaining the present high standards.”

It was noted in the correspondence, “Further to the work carried out by the Garda Vetting Review Group, steps are now being taken to implement a number of key changes to the vetting process that will ensure it remains robust and effective while improving the service to customers. It is the Minister’s objective to ensure the vetting system is fit for purpose and, to the greatest extent possible, efficient and future-proofed to continue to protect our children.

“In practice, and subject to a general requirement that vetting be renewed every three years, it is envisaged that this will mean that when a person is vetted for the work they will be or are likely to be involved in as part of their employment or volunteering within identified risk categories, the person would not be required to repeat the process if they were to move to another role within the same risk category.”

The correspondence noted, “These changes will require amending legislation and updated technical systems to support the revised approach and will make the process more efficient for volunteers and organisations, without compromising the essential safeguards that protect those in our care.”

Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.