Madam, - Ian Elliott of the NSPCC (September 9th) is right to highlight the inadequate Garda vetting of those who work with children in this State, compared with the systems in place in Northern Ireland.
At present, students on practice placements (such as students of social care and early education, among others) are denied Garda vetting. However, child care agencies are increasingly requiring Garda clearance of all those who come through their doors, including supervised students.
This means it is increasingly difficult to arrange practice placements for students, and thus train the next generation of child protection professionals.
What is required is extra resources for the Garda Control Vetting Unit (as were provided for the mass screening of Special Olympics volunteers) so that all who work with children, whether they be staff, volunteers or students, can be properly screened. This is not to say that such vetting can ever be definitive, but it would be a significant step in the right direction. - Yours, etc.,
KEVIN LALOR, Department of Social Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin 6.