People working with children ‘must be vetted’

MANDATORY garda vetting must be introduced for all employees and volunteers who have substantial unsupervised access to children, the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) has urged.

In particular, the NYCI said it wants to see an all-island approach taken to vetting because people intending to harm children and young people did not heed borders.

NYCI director Mary Cunningham, who will address a major seminar in Dublin today on child protection, has called for an all-island register of people deemed unsuitable to work with children.

And, she said, serious consideration should be given to registering individuals not convicted of crimes against children but deemed unsuitable because of other conduct or behaviour.

Currently, in Northern Ireland anyone on the Disqualification from Working with Children List is prohibited from law from working with children.

It is also illegal for organisations in the North to offer a childcare position to anyone on the list.

While the council welcomed the procedure introduced this month for the vetting of new teachers, they want it to be underpinned by legislation.

NYCI child protection coordinator Gearóid Maoilmhichil said it was still left to a school’s board of management to ensure that non-teaching staff were vetted, a situation that is far from satisfactory.

And, he said, as things stood, even someone on the sex offenders’ list in the Republic was not prohibited in law from working with children.