THERE are 55,000 people waiting up to four months to get
Garda clearance to work with vulnerable adults or children in community
and voluntary services, latest figures from the Department of Justice
have shown.
Despite considerable beefing up, the Garda Central
Vetting Unit (GCVU), where 89 gardaí and Garda civilian personnel now
work, the figure has remained chronically high over the past year.
Last October, the Irish Examiner revealed the backlog was at 60,000.
At that time, an additional 10 staff had just been recruited to the unit
in Thurles.
According to the department, the average waiting
time is approximately 10 weeks, however, some people are waiting up to
four months for clearance and cannot take up a job.
More than
290,000 people were vetted last year, and people who have been vetted
and cleared once by the gardaí must be vetted again if they want to work
or volunteer for a different organisation. Groups such as the St
Vincent de Paul have said this is unnecessary.
Minister for
Justice Alan Shatter said he is "concerned" at the length of time taken
to process vetting applications. He said the Department of Finance had
sanctioned the recruitment of 10 temporary employees in the GCVU and
they are now being recruited.
The minister also said further
steps are "under consideration" with a view to alleviating the pressure
on the staff of the GCVU and reduce the time taken to process
applications.
Children’s rights groups have consistently called for legislation around vetting.
In January 2009, following the publication of the Cloyne Report, the
then minister promised to publish a National Vetting Bureau Bill within
six months.
This would allow for a comprehensive vetting
system of those working with children, including the use of soft
information. Such legislation was recommended by the Joint Committee on
the Constitutional Amendment on Children in September 2008.
There have been arguments against the use of soft information, which
includes background checks on allegations or concerns raised about
people in the past.
Mr Shatter said the question of
legislative proposals to provide a statutory framework for vetting would
necessitate consideration of a wide range of issues including
information sharing with other relevant bodies, such as the HSE.
"It will also have to have regard to how responsibility for the
management of information relevant to the vetting process is assigned
and the need to protect the constitutional rights of all citizens," he
said.