Garda Vetting update 20 April 2021

Garda Vetting Compliance

We would like to remind our members that it is illegal for early learning and care practitioners or school age childcare practitioners, or any person that undertakes relevant work, to start work in an early learning and care or school age setting, until their Garda Vetting has been completed,  under the 2016 Childcare Regulations and the Garda Vetting National Vetting Bureau Act 2012.

If you allow a new employee to start before the Grada Vetting has been completed, you may be liable under section 26 of Schedule 1, Part (1) of the Garda National vetting Bureau Act 2012.

A person guilty of an offence under section 26 shall be liable –

• to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or
• on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.

It is your responsibility to ensure that the procedures outlined by your Recruitment Policy are followed when hiring employees and unpaid workers, including the steps to be taken to check and verify references, qualifications, and vetting documentation.

Overseas Police Clearance

The Garda Vetting that we process in Early Childhood Ireland only covers addresses in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

If you hire an employee from another country or you are hiring an Irish employee who has resided in countries outside of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland for a period of 6 months or more, it is mandatory for them to obtain a Police Clearance Certificate from those countries stating that they have no convictions recorded against them while residing there. This should all be done PRIOR to the person commencing employment in the childcare service.

They will need to provide a separate Police Clearance Certificate for each country they have resided in. Clearance must be dated after the date they left the country/countries. Seeking the security clearances from other countries (e.g. UK, USA etc.) are the responsibility of the applicant. It is a process which can take an amount of time. 

The following websites may be of assistance:

United Kingdom

Please note that if you need Police clearance from the UK you will need an International Child Protection Certificate, NOT a Police Certificate.
You can apply for the International Child Protection Certificate on the link below:

http://www.acro.police.uk/ICPC
https://www.acro.police.uk/ICPC_Online.aspx

Australia

www.afp.gov.au

This website provides information on obtaining a national police clearance certificate for Australia.

New Zealand

https://www.justice.govt.nz/criminal-records/

This website will provide information on obtaining police clearance in New Zealand.

United States of America

Please note that valid Security/Overseas Clearance from the USA must be obtained from the FBI only. FBI Clearance is valid for all of the United States and convictions / remarks occurring anywhere in the United States would be noted.

Download the Applicant Information form here.
FD-258 Fingerprint Card

Credit Card Payment Form

The current processing time for an FBI Background Check is taking 12 – 14 weeks to complete from the date the request was received. Unfortunately, no requests can be expedited at this time due to the amount of work. All responses are mailed through the US Postal Service First Class Mail. Please allow standard mailing time (three weeks in the US and four weeks outside the US) to receive the response. There is no tracking number with the US Postal Service First Class Mail. Responses cannot be emailed.

Other Countries

For other countries not listed above you may find it helpful to contact the relevant embassies who could provide you with information on seeking Police Clearance.

The Teaching Council of Ireland has a handy document with useful addresses regarding obtaining overseas police clearance.

Note: Any costs incurred in this process will be borne by the applicant.

1Part II Regulation 6.(5)(a) ‘Registration of pre-school service’ of Childcare Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations 2016. Available at:   https://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/publications/20160510ChildCareActEarlyYrsRegs2016SI221of20

For more information, see the Garda Vetting Section on our website or phone the Garda Vetting Department on 01 405 7102.