Teacher checks - Vetting delay a major child safety risk

AS thousands of young people return to school this week, along with 60,000 tiny tots in the classroom for the first time, parents will no doubt be disturbed to learn that nearly half the new teachers starting work are still awaiting garda clearance.

Under strict procedures designed to protect children from sexual or other kinds of abuse by people who have unsupervised access to them, vetting letters must be presented to schools planning to employ a newly qualified teacher or those returning to the teaching ranks after at least three years.

Essentially, the kind of information gardaí are trawling for involves previous court convictions or any pending prosecutions against an applicant.