Garda vetting and time spent overseas

Mrs OBumble

A friend recently approached a volunteer organisation, asking to do some work with children for them.

They told her that she wasn't eligible: because she lived in the UK for a few years, it's not possible to get Garda vetting for her, so they cannot use her.

Is this correct?

It sounds mad: It's not like she was in a dodgy country where the police force is corrupt or suchlike. And a rule like that would mean that every single foreign national in the country could not work with vulnerable people. Ditto any young professional (nurse, teacher, etc) who's travelled overseas for a few years. (The more I think about it, the madder it sounds. Maybe they were just trying to put her off and not tell the truth about why.)

Hmm: I've noticed a few ads recently where it says "must complete Garda vetting application" - does this mean you have to fill in the form, but they don't actually do the vetting????

Sean1982

Hi there,

I am in a similar predicament. In my case however I would like to do a course. It's a sports course run by FAS so at the end of it if I am instructing I may come in to contact with children. My problem is I spent 8 months travelling in the last year. Admittedly I was all over the place: South America, South East Asia etc.

However, to answer your question, I was in the FAS office recently and the lady that I spoke with advised me that she could not put my name down for this course because I had been abroad for more than six months. She was very helpful though and asked if I had spent much of that time in the UK, as her understanding is that the Gardai have a relationship with the PSNI and the police in the UK, and if I had spent my time there, Garda vetting could still be completed.

Now it's possible that she is misinformed but I think it reasonable to assume that if somebody was in the UK it should be easy enough to find out if that person has had any difficulties with the law.

Also, as it is the Gardai and not the voluntary organisation who completes the vetting procedure, the voluntary organisation may not necessarily be aware of the finer details of the vetting process. But then maybe they just don't want anymore volunteers who knows! It's a pity as I've been a youth leader and I know how difficult it is to get people to help out.

I hope this is helpful

Seán

donkey balls

just because your away for a couple of months/years doesent mean you cant get gardai vetting done.

i did what sean has done travelling around the world upon my return a year later i was going for a job in dub airport
which they need gardai vetting&company back ground checks for the year that i was away i simply brought in my passport were they could see the different dates of entry into the countries i had been to.
also while i was working in the airport alot of eastern europeans were employed and they had to bring a cert from there local police station with them to say they were of good repute.

this is how it works the company/charity your going work for get in contact with the vetting office in thurles who then do the checks to make sure you have been a good boy/girl.

Nightwish

With regards to Garda vetting, it doesnt matter how long you've been overseas. You fill in all addresses (no matter what country its in) from birth to present. You will also be required to get vetting from any country you have spent +6 months.

vector

Nightwish wrote: »

...it doesnt matter how long you've been overseas. You fill in all addresses...

well is must matter how long... I mean if you went to Spain for 4 days and stayed in a hotel back in 1995 you surely won't mention that!

but what about being in Austrlia last year for 6 weeks? would you given hte address of every hostel/hotel?

I dounf a PDF of the form (customised for the GAA) online but there is no guidance page covering this "time" question