Procedure stalled by vast paperwork

THE Garda vetting of employees and volunteers can be a drawn-out process involving bundles of paper going back and forth, for a relatively simple check.

Since the Garda Central Vetting Unit was revamped and moved to Thurles last year, its role has grown, as have the mounds of paperwork.

One source said yesterday up to a million pieces of paper with background information on people working with children and vulnerable adults were in its offices.

There are even suggestions, the Tipperary offices are considering double shifts, or 24-hour operations to help cut back the waiting list for vetting.

According to children support groups, the process of vetting a new employee may look simple on the outside. However, simple mistakes for someone’s date of birth, address or references mean employers must double check everything.

When employers are finished checking details, files are then handed over to gardaí.

According to some sports groups contacted yesterday, liaison officers between gardaí and organisations are now been trained on how to handle vetting applications.

Training began for 10 sporting bodies last March and a second batch of organisations will be trained after July.

The liaison officers are expected to be senior officials from organisations, who will look for any out of the ordinary issues with vetting applications. They will also be charged with returning applications to employees and volunteers, telling them if they are successful or if they have been denied approval.

The garda role in vetting exists on a number of levels, depending on the layers of information they access.

They initially check for convictions on the Garda Pulse computer system. This shows records of crimes committed however the vetting unit do not search for issues like traffic convictions or public disorder records.

Under their remit, even if they find no conviction but suspect something suspicious about an employee, they can apply to a local garda district for more information.

However, it is believed a check on an applicant does not include details on ‘soft’ information, in a situation where complaints against someone came to nothing.

Vetting applications can take up to between two and four weeks.