Lack of vetting ‘denies children rights’

IRISH children are being denied their right to full protection by the Government’s lack of proper vetting of school staff for criminal records, the Ombudsman for Children Emily Logan has claimed.

She said there should also be greater collaboration between State agencies and public bodies when it comes to checking potential employees’ backgrounds.

Ms Logan is reviewing vetting procedures here in light of a recent report on the issue by her Northern Ireland counterpart, Nigel Williams, where he expressed concern about vetting failures in the Republic.

She said one of her primary roles is to promote the rights of children, particularly the right to protection, which is set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“The State is failing children, they’re not getting a fair deal when you compare what we have and what happens in Northern Ireland. There’s no match with the protection children receive there and in Britain,” she said.

“Vetting workers is not a panacea for protecting children, but it’s one of the more fundamental processes,” Ms Logan said.

She said her office was receiving a growing number of calls about child protection.

“We’ve had a number of people expressing concern about it, parents and professionals wondering what’s happened to the promise to extend the vetting system announced last September,” Ms Logan said.

The Irish Examiner revealed this week that plans unveiled almost a year ago by Minister for Children Brian Lenihan to more than double staff in the Garda Central Vetting Unit have yet to be implemented, just weeks before more than 780,000 children return to school.

The aim was to extend the current vetting system beyond those working in the health sector to every person working with children in private and public organisations.

The Department of Justice says the expanded unit will come into effect when it moves from garda headquarters to Thurles, Co Tipperary, later this year.

In his report on vetting procedures published in June, Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People Nigel Williams expressed concern that the system in the Republic was not as comprehensive as in Northern Ireland. He urged improvements as quickly as possible, given the frequent movement of workers across the Border.

He said it was vital that consistent practice was ensured across the jurisdictions, and recommended that Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain collaborate with authorities here to ensure these standards are attained.