National Vetting Bureau Bill

The Department of Health at a recent meeting announced that the Taoiseach has prioritised legislation which it wants it enacted before the end of the year. This proposes the establishment of a National Vetting Bureau which will have implications for all health agencies with a statutory register.

The main components of the bill are;

• A National Vetting Bureau will be established, under the Garda Commissioner.
• Vetting will be compulsory, prior to commencement, for all employees(or volunteers) who are in contact with children or vulnerable adults. 
• Retrospective vetting will be introduced incrementally for all employees not vetted to date.
• Re-vetting will be introduced; a proposal of every 5 years is suggested.
• Each person vetted will have a unique vetting number,thus making re-vetting or multiple vettings from different agencies easier.
• Organisations will be required to notify the Vetting Bureau when an issue of threat to children or vulnerable adults arise.
• There is a high probability that registration bodies i.e. PHECC, may at some stage be required to vet all practitioners prior to registration.