 Garda Vetting
Who's Responsibility?
It is the responsibility of the Board of Management to ensure that any proposed new appointee, who has/may have unsupervised access to students, is vetted.
Who should be Vetted?
All persons being appointed to positions of any duration must be vetted prior to commencing employment unless they have already been vetted during the same or previous calendar year. This requirement to be vetted now includes
- teachers who are changing employment to other schools. Teachers who are seeking employment (including substitute work) and those who are likely to be changing employment(s) should apply to the Teaching Council at least 3 months in advance so that their vetting can be arranged in a timely manner.
- ancillary staff
- volunteers and persons that have or may have unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults.
When should a Vetting Report be Requested?
The Board of Management should ensure that vetting is only sought in respect of a person to whom it proposes to make an offer of employment. Applications should not be sought prior to a decision being taken to offer appointment.
Every effort must be made to complete the vetting process in advance of the commencement of the period of employment. However, if this is not possible (for reasons outside the control of the school authority) then the prospective employee must confirm acceptance in writing that his/her appointment is subject to the satisfactory outcome of the vetting process.
Ancillary staff and volunteers in schools in the dioceses of Kerry, Killaloe & Limerick' may apply for a vetting report by completing the vetting form and forwarding it to the appropriate Diocesan Office (see contact details below).
Statutory Declaration & Form of Undertaking::
A Statutory Declaration must be provided to the school authority by all persons being appointed to teaching and non-teaching positions of any duration unless the person has
previously provided the school authority with a statutory declaration which was made during the same or previous calendar year. The school authority must obtain and view the original statutory declaration and retain a copy of it for its own records. A Statutory Declaration is regarded as valid if made in the same or previous calendar year and therefore may be retained by the applicant for use in other employments as required.
In addition, the Form of Undertaking (which is specific to the employing school) must be signed by all persons prior to appointment to any teaching or non-teaching position of any duration. For administrative ease, the Department’s payroll appointment forms will incorporate this undertaking. However, for any appointment (teaching or non-teaching) that does not require completion of a payroll appointment
form, the Form of Undertaking must be completed by the prospective appointee prior to commencing employment.
How to apply for a Vetting Report:
An application for the vetting of Prospective teaching employees should be made/have been completed by the Teaching Council who will have provided the candidate with a Vetting Letter.
An application for all other prospective employees can be made by completing the vetting form and forwarding to;-
Diocese of Kerry:
Ms. Joan Buckley, Pastoral Centre, Killarney, Co. Kerry. Tel. 064 6632644 Fax. 064 6631170 Email.reledkerry@kerry.ie
Diocese of Killaloe:
Ms. Margaret Flynn, Diocesan Administrator, Bishop's House, Westbourne, Ennis, Co. Clare. Tel. 065 6828638 Email. office@killaloediocese.ie
Diocese of Limerick:
Mrs. Margaret Dalton, Limerick Diocesan Office, Social Service Centre, Henry Street, Limerick. Tel. 061 315856 Fax. 061 310186 Email.margaret@ldo.ie
Vetting outcomes will be viable for up to 2 years for school employees and up to 5 years for volunteers.
What to do should a Garda Vetting Report uncover details of a Criminal Conviction:
DES Circular 0094/2006 ‘New arrangements for the vetting of teaching and non-teaching staff’ addresses this issue.
9.1 It is a matter for the Board of Management to determine whether any conviction disclosed as a result of the vetting application would render a prospective employee unsuitable for employment by the school. It is for the Board to make a judgment as to the person’s suitability.
9.3 The fact that a person has a conviction does not automatically render him or her unsuitable for work with or access to children or vulnerable adults. A person’s suitability should be looked at as a whole in the light of all the information available including the relevance of the nature of the offence in the context of child protection.
 Templates/ Forms
- Statutory Declaration
- Form of Undertaking
- Instructions for the completition of the Garda Vetting Application
- Diocese of Kerry Garda Vetting Application Form
- Diocese of Killaloe Garda Vetting Application Form
- Diocese of Limerick Garda Vetting Application Form
 DES Circulars
- Circular 0063/2010 - Recruitment Procedures: requirements for Garda vetting
- Circular 0094/2006 - New arrangements for the vetting of teaching and non-teaching staff.
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