Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
497. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether the current statutory framework governing Garda vetting requires mandatory re-vetting at defined intervals for individuals working in regulated child-care or early years settings; if so, to specify the legislative provision underpinning such requirement; and if not, whether legislative amendment has been considered [13461/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraGarda vetting is an essential part of ensuring the safeguarding of children and it is the legal responsibility of the registered provider to ensure statutory vetting obligations are complied with and maintained at all times. A regulatory rechecking system for Garda vetting is in place in the early years sector. Garda vetting must be renewed every three years, in line with the Tusla Regulatory Notice on the renewal of vetting from September 2023. The Regulatory Notice states:
'All adults in early years settings working directly with children are required to have a vetting disclosure dated within the previous 3 years'.
The National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016 provide a statutory basis for the vetting of persons carrying out relevant work with children or vulnerable persons. The Act stipulates that a relevant organisation shall not permit any person to undertake relevant work or activities on behalf of the organisation, unless the organisation receives a vetting disclosure from the National Vetting Bureau in respect of that person. All early years services are considered to undertake relevant work or activities for the purposes of this Act.
The Tusla Early Years Inspectorate is the independent statutory regulator for the early years sector and is responsible for the implementation of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016. In line with the requirements of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016, the registered provider, all employees, unpaid workers and contractors in an pre-school service are required to have Garda vetting (as well as police checks for all countries they resided in for longer than six months) prior to being allowed access to children. Similar requirements are also in place for the school age childcare sector and for the childminding sector under the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Registration of School Age Services) Regulations 2018 and the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Childminding Services) Regulations 2024 respectively.
A Garda vetting disclosure is non-transferrable between organisations. This means a service is required to make a new vetting application in respect of a new employee even if they have Garda vetting from a previous organisation.
