Minister Alan Shatter today announced that sanction has been obtained for the redeployment of 25 additional staff from the Department of Agriculture to the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU). The additional 25 staff will be located in the Department of Justice offices in Tipperary town which also house the Citizenship Section of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service.
The Unit is responsible for processing vetting applications on behalf of approximately 20,000 organisations registered with it. It processed approximately 350,000 applications in 2012.
This Unit will become The National Vetting Bureau following commencement of Section 28 of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act and will have a substantially expanded role under new legislation. The GCVU currently comprises three Units: The Garda Vetting Unit; The Garda Criminal Records Office and the Garda Data Processing Unit.
Given these new demands, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter TD said “it is very important to ensure adequate staffing”.
The types of work or activities that require vetting under the National Betting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act include: childcare services; schools; hospitals and health services; residential services or accommodation for children or vulnerable persons; treatment, therapy or counselling services for children or vulnerable persons; provision of leisure, sporting or physical activities to children or vulnerable persons; and promotion of religious beliefs.