An Garda Síochána
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-27
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Niall Collins (FF), Limerick County

The primary purpose of vetting carried out by the National Vetting Bureau is to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults. This requires a robust Garda vetting process that reassures the public, and in particular parents, that appropriate checks are conducted on people who are seeking or taking positions of trust. The Government is aware that concerns have been raised regarding certain aspects of the vetting process, and we have listened carefully to the views of the sporting and voluntary sectors. In this regard, I am aware that aspects of the current voting system result in a highly segmented process. Furthermore, we believe that the vetting system should be updated to ensure vetting is portable.
Further to the work carried out by the Garda vetting review group, steps are being taken to implement a number of key changes to the vetting process that will ensure it remains robust and effective, while improving service to customers. In practice, and subject to the general requirement that vetting be renewed every three years, this will mean that when a person is vetted for the work they do, will be doing or are likely to be involved in as part of their employment or volunteering within identified risk categories, further vetting will not be required if the person moves to another role within the same risk category. These changes will require amending legislation and updating technical systems to support the revised approach. The Government is working closely with An Garda Síochána to improve the vetting process, and we look forward to updating the House in due course on progress in this matter. Our aim is to ensure Garda vetting systems continue to be fit for purpose, robust and future-proofed while continuing to protect children and vulnerable adults. We are committed to proceeding with these changes to make the process more efficient for volunteers and organisations without compromising essential safeguards that protect those in our care.

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-27/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:01+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-27