Schools ‘must carry out own background checks’
He was responding to concerns about the fact that gardaí cannot tell schools if a prospective employee was questioned about criminal matters that might affect their suitability to work with children. The availability of this so-called ‘soft information’ has long been sought by children’s organisations such as Barnardos and Fine Gael.
Such information can now be provided to employers in England in light of the Ian Huntley case in 2002. It emerged after his conviction for murdering Soham girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman — pupils at the school where he worked as a caretaker — that he was quizzed nine times by police, but never charged, in relation to sexual offences.
