Issue 31: March 2001 - Youth Work Ireland

(c) A concern was expressed that some agenciesmight place too much emphasis on the Gardaclearance as a means of vetting employers.References might not be chased up adequately.(d) A further concern expressed was that anindividual could actually use Garda clearance tomasque his/her past.(e) The Commissioner foresees the establishmentof new office with the express responsibility ofprocessing Garda clearance requests (IASCE,2000).3What is the Current Situation for the Policein the Irish Republic?From 1994, the police were obliged to carry outbackground checks 'in respect of full-timeprospective employees in the health care area whowould have substantial access to children orvulnerable young people' (O' Donaghue, 2000). Thisleaves students of social care courses in no-man'sland until either they graduate, or their student statusis recognised in itself. A number of potential legalproblems remain unresolved for students, collegesand employers such as what happens if a collegediscovers that a student has a criminal prosecutionin year two of a three year course or should thecolleges differentiate between prosecutions?Some colleagues feel that a drink driving offenceshould not count against a student's progress,whereas other colleagues feel that it should be takenmost seriously by a course board, as it might be anindication of weak moral character! The examplesone could provide are endless.A comprehensive review of police 'clearance'arrangements has now been undertaken and aninternal Working Group was established by theGardai to look into an effective response from thePolice that would prove mutually acceptable to all insocial care. The Garda Commissioner has alsoestablished an 'implementation group'. The latestsituation is that Garda Headquarters hasrecommended the establishment of a central vettingunit to process applications for Garda clearance, butit is unclear if applications by students going onplacement will be considered (McHugh, 2000).What Has Been Done?As with so many things in Irish life, an interimworking solution has been found. Students are beingadvised to apply for Garda clearance through theIrish YouthWork SceneDATA Protection Act (1988) under section four. Theyare to give their frill names, current address, date ofbirth and a request fee of £5. In this manner, we canovercome the issue for the moment.The response from the D/Superintendent forAssistant Commissioner of the Gardai is interestingas seen from the following typical correspondencereturned to a student at the Waterford Institute ofTechnology where it is clearly stated that theconfirmation is not a letter of Garda Clearance.General Office, Security and IntelligenceBranch, Phoenix Park, Dublin 8.Strictly Private and ConfidentialThis document should not be construed as aPolice Certificate of Character, a GarciaMs XXXXXXAddress.Re:Act, 1988.Reference or Garcia Clearance.Request under Section 4 Data ProtectionI wish to refer to your request in the above matterand to inform you that a search of the GardaCriminal Records Database reveals no personaldata on you.The searches were carried out on the basis of theidentification particulars supplied to this office as peryour correspondence.I wish to acknowledge receipt of £5 request fee.Yours sincerely,D/Su perintendent for Assistant Commissioner.Should Police Clearance be the Role of thePolice?As with most organisations, the Gardai areoverstretched and under-resourced. This is also anew area for the Gardai to consider and moves themaway from their more traditional duties andobligations. Perhaps the vetting process could betterbe done with trained civil servants based in a GardaMarch 2001c0MMENTc0MMENTc0MMENTc0MMENTc0MMENTc0MMENT