The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence has sent the proposed National Vetting Bureau Bill to the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) Joint Committee on Justice and Defence with an expectation that legislation will be published at the end of October 2011. This proposes to introduce mandatory vetting of all employees and volunteers who come in regular close contact with children, vulnerable adults and mandatory vetting of all positions within the administration and implementation of Justice, as well as positions that involve state security.

The current proposal provides for the establishment of the National Vetting Bureau which will essentially replace the Garda Central Vetting Office. It is most likely that this Bill will not be enacted until mid-2012.

The draft Bill states the positions which are subject to vetting requirements, and sets out specifically the acts and job roles/areas which must be vetted and is quite broad, in order to cover all types of employment not specifically referred to in the bill. Employment governed by the following acts will be subjected to the proposed mandatory vetting:

  • The Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointment) Act 2004
  • The Private Security Services Act 2004
  • The Taxi Regulation Act 2003
  • Employment in Pre School Service as defined by the Child Care Act 1991
  • Employment of teachers as defined by the Teaching Council Acts 2001 and 2006

The draft Bill has been structured so that people within registered organisations who do not have regular and close contact with children will not be subject to mandatory vetting.

The functions of the Bureau will be as follows:

  • The establishment and the maintenance of a list of registered organisations who are to have part or all of their employees vetted.
  • The maintenance of a list of liaison person(s) nominated by the registered organisation.
  • The establishment and maintenance of records concerning prosecution and conviction for offences, including successful appeals against such offences and any other court orders or decisions with regard to those offences.
  • Also any information received by other jurisdictions with regard to but not limited to offences carried out in those jurisdictions.

The duties of the registered organisation to the Bureau are as follows:

  • To nominate a liaison person for the purpose of making an application for vetting disclosures.
  • To seek vetting disclosures in respect of a person seeking employment in jobs subject to mandatory vetting.
  • To provide the Bureau and compliance officer with records, documents or access to the premises upon request of the Bureau.

The subject person will have to be furnished a copy of any vetting disclosures which provides details of criminal records information or any information where on the basis of the disclosure, the person is unsuitable for the position that they have applied for.

Where an organisation has a bona fide reason to believe that a person, may cause harm to children or vulnerable adults, this must be reported to the Bureau. The organisation must also make the vetting subject aware of this and invite the vetting subject to make a submission to the Bureau before the Bureau makes a determination to enter the information on the Bureau's register.

In relation to employment positions which involve regular or ongoing unsupervised contact with children, vulnerable adults or employment in a state security position, a vetting disclosure must include the following:

  • All records of prosecutions, convictions, appeals, court orders or court decisions relating to offences which applies to the vetting subject.

The draft Bill also provides that organisations could face fines and individuals could face prosecution if they do not vet job applicants or volunteers that apply for positions subject to mandatory vetting. A dispute and appeals process regarding information contained in the proposed vetting disclosure is provided for in order to comply with fair procedure rights under the Constitution.

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