Garda Vetting

Garda Vetting of Teachers

At the beginning of the 2006/2007 academic year, Garda vetting was introduced for new teachers and other new appointees who have unsupervised access to children and vulnerable adults.

On this page, we outline the Teaching Council’s role in relation to Garda Vetting and answer some frequently asked questions.

Note
The Garda Vetting process is currently taking approximately 6-8 weeks.

Background
In June 2006, Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin, T.D. announced expanded arrangements for the vetting of people with unsupervised access to children and vulnerable adults. This move was based on recommendations made by the Inter-departmental Committee on Garda Vetting.

Vetting procedures have been in place for some time in relation to special needs assistants and bus escorts. The Department, in consultation with the Garda Central Vetting Unit (GCVU), has decided that all new teachers and ancillary staff employed at schools must be vetted.

Teachers Currently in Service
Vetting arrangements will be expanded on a phased basis over the coming years to include all teachers currently in the system.

The Role of the Teaching Council
As part of the process of registering teachers for the first time, the Teaching Council has agreed to be the authorised body to seek the vet for new teachers. In practice, this means that the Council:

1. Receives and checks the completed Garda Vetting Application Forms from final year student teachers in colleges and universities and from other new teachers
2. Forwards the application form to the GCVU to have the vet carried out in respect of each applicant
3. Receives Garda Vetting results from the GCVU once the vet has been completed
4. Prepares a Vetting Letter for each applicant giving the result of the vet.

This obviates the need for schools to directly approach the GCVU to request the vetting of such new teachers.

The Role of School Authorities
It is the responsibility of the relevant school authorities (Board of Management or VEC as appropriate) to ensure that any proposed new appointee who may have unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults is vetted. However, this should only be sought in respect of a person to whom it proposes making a job offer. In the case of new teachers as defined above, schools must ensure that they request the prospective employee to present for inspection the Vetting Letter from the Teaching Council, before a formal offer of appointment is made.

The Teaching Council, in the context of registration, will have to decide on the relevance of a conviction to the teacher’s suitability for registration. The Council's Evidence of Character Panel assesses disclosures returned by the GCVU.

Further Details:
Further details are outlined in Circular letter 0094/2006 which was issued to employing authorities by the Department of Education and Science, in mid-2006.

Any queries in relation to Garda Vetting can be made by calling the Teaching Council at 01 6517900.