An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-11
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Anne Rabbitte (FF), Nominated by the Taoiseach

I am thankful for the opportunity to speak on the Order of Business. Garda vetting is an age-old problem here in Ireland. Unfortunately, we do not have a straightforward system approach. If someone applies for a number of posts and is being offered the opportunity of work, unfortunately, an application for each has to be submitted to the Garda vetting office. What I am proposing is no different from what we are looking at in relation to age verification for children online. Can we have a verification system that is universal in its support but reviewed regularly? We need a more seamless process to ensure that people are not held up because the waiting list at the moment for Garda vetting is quite lengthy.
It is also very off-putting for employers because they know the process and know that, when they start recruiting, they might have to wait six, eight or up to ten weeks before having a positive outcome. I am suggesting that the Minister responsible for Garda vetting would come before us and tell us of his or her plans to ensure that we can have a more seamless process for Garda vetting for the future of the workforce in this country.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-12-11/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:27+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-11