An Garda Síochána
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-27
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Pa Daly (SF), Kerry

What we proposed almost four years ago was that the chief bureau officer would establish what we call a register of general consents. The Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers gave great assistance so that people would remain on the register for three years, give their permission and, under section 6, give a general consent to the disclosure of vetting information to any organisation that might require it. At the time, the Minister said the Department must investigate any revetting impact upon constitutional rights, employment law and the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977. That is all fine. However, we have a situation with junior parkruns for example, which take place all over the country, where volunteers stand in and keep an eye on the route to make sure children run around in the correct way. There is a danger that this may be cancelled because of an ultra-conservative approach being taken where even someone who stands there for 15 minutes on a Sunday morning would have to be Garda vetted. A register of general consent would avoid this, make it simpler and encourage people to volunteer because a lot of people are put off and groan when they hear they have to be revetted for the second, third or fourth time in a year.

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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