ON THE ADJOURNMENT: The Government recess provides an opportunity for backbench TDs and senators to sound off . This week Olwyn Enright argues that children are being put at risk by the continued failure to establish adequate systems to vet those who work with them.
Every day that we continue to fail to introduce comprehensive vetting procedures we place the wellbeing and safety of children and vulnerable adults at risk.
I have spent considerable time in the last year looking at and evaluating the systems in place in Ireland and in other countries to protect children and vulnerable adults. I have come to the conclusion that Ireland is not meeting its responsibilities or realising its duty to protect all in our society, particularly children and vulnerable adults.
The vetting of those who work in this area in Ireland is deeply inadequate. As of July 8th the central vetting unit of An Garda Síochána still only processes requests for clearance from the Department of Education and Science in relation to bus escorts and assistants provided to children with special educational needs and to staff working in children's detention centres.
Other employees and volunteers working in the education sector are not covered, and the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, admitted to me: "I am aware that schools have experienced difficulties having other prospective employees vetted," effectively schools, charities, voluntary and sporting and youth organisations. All of these employ staff or volunteers who have access to children in their work but have no access to formal vetting procedures.
Every school, health board, voluntary, sporting, youth and charitable organisation working with children and vulnerable adults needs skilled, resourceful, dedicated, capable staff. But we need to focus on more than just a person's qualifications and experience: we must screen out those who could pose a threat to a child or vulnerable adult.
It is vital that thorough vetting procedures and good practices are followed in recruiting personnel to work with children and vulnerable adults. Vetting a prospective employee should show whether the person has a criminal record and also any relevant non-conviction information.
It should show if a recommendation has been made from a relevant school, health board or organisation to the unit that the person should not be employed to work with children or vulnerable adults, and the reasons.
Over the last number of years we have been shown time and again instances when children needed our assistance in the past, and we as a State failed them.
At no time was this more evident that during the regime of abuse and neglect in institutions charged with the responsibility for children.
We can look back and see that there were gaps in the provisions to protect children from abuse in the past, yet we have not taken sufficient steps to ensure that we can prevent this abuse happening again now or in the future.
Where abuse occurs it should not be possible for the perpetrator to move to another part of the country and abuse again, yet our lack of action in relation to vetting makes it easy for them.
Fine Gael is proposing the introduction of a comprehensive system of vetting. This is long overdue, and I am certain that only a radical and far-reaching overhaul of our vetting procedures will meet the responsibility that the State holds to every child and vulnerable adult.
In Northern Ireland vetting systems have been in place for 20 years and have undergone improvement and refinement in that time. It was not until January 2002 that a central vetting unit operated by the Garda was established in Ireland.
This service is far too restricted, being open only to staff at the health boards, and even here there are reports of staff continuing to be appointed without the appropriate checks having been followed. *
There is no doubt that we need to expand and enhance the work of the central vetting unit. This unit, which has to be properly resourced, should be the focal point of a new and comprehensive system of vetting in Ireland. I believe the responsibility of the day-to-day running of the unit should remain with the Garda, but with additional staff and resources so that all those who need access to the service have it.
A statutory obligation should be imposed to ensure correct procedures are followed prior to a person taking up his or her post. Voluntary organisations should be encouraged to meet certain specified criteria to allow them register for access to the central vetting unit.
Before a name is added to the unit's list a fair and transparent process would have to be followed in compliance with the principles of natural justice, and only specified people within each organisation would report to the unit or seek clearance from it.
We also have to ensure that somebody who leaves their job to avoid being reported is automatically reported to the unit. We cannot afford to take an out-of-sight out-of-mind approach.
Of course, the rights of the employee will also have to be protected. The new procedure will employ checks and balances to ensure people will not find their way on to the system in error or through malice, and to ensure that the person will have the opportunity of stating their case for non-inclusion with the right of access to appeal against inclusion on the records held by the central vetting unit.
Every day that we fail to deal with this issue will place more children and vulnerable adults at risk. Every day that the system in the Republic is less stringent and less comprehensive than that in operation in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom will leave our children and vulnerable adults at risk. We cannot become a safe haven for these people to operate from.
Fine Gael used Private Member's Time last December to try and move this issue forward as the Government has shown a great reluctance to deal with it. The usual cross-governmental working group was set up and has submitted the final report to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Garda Commissioner.
The Department of Education and Science has also prepared a draft discussion paper, yet no legislation has been published and no definite date for publication has been offered.
* Irish Social Services Inspectorate Report 2002
Olwyn Enright is Fine Gael TD for Laois-Offaly and party spokeswoman on education and science. Next week: Mae Sexton TD.