The National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012–2016 provide a statutory basis for the vetting of persons carrying out relevant work with children or vulnerable persons. The Act also creates offences and penalties for persons who fail to comply with its provisions. 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. Garda vetting is conducted on behalf of registered organisations only and is not conducted for individual persons on a personal basis.
More information can be found on the website for An Garda Síochána here:
National Vetting Bureau - What is Vetting?
Parishes
The Diocesan Vetting Service provides a full vetting service to Parishes/Diocese in respect of people who are required to be vetted.
In relation to Church Ministry, vetting is required for :
Anyone who is 18 year or over and involved in any form of ministry, employed/contracted or volunteering, who has contact with children and/or vulnerable persons which is more than incidental.
Those who are aged over 16 years and under 18 years may be vetted, but this can only be carried out with the written consent of their parent/guardian and the young person themselves. The Parent/ Guardian should complete the vetting form NVB1 (for under 18’s) and NVB3.
There is no facility to vet children under 16.
How to Decide What Roles need to be Vetted in a Parish
The Diocese of Cork and Ross Vetting Service must identify a lawful basis for vetting and vetting can only be provided for the roles where an individual is:
“working with or undertaking an activity, of which a necessary and regular part of it consists of having access to or contact with children or vulnerable adults”
It is important that you consider if the work/activity involves an individual having more than incidental access to or contact with children or adults who may be vulnerable and therefore will require vetting.
Examples of roles that require Vetting in a Parish:
- Priest
- Parish Safeguarding Rep
- Sacristan
- Eucharistic Minister only if taking the Eucharist to homes, hospitals or care centres
- Youth Ministry Leaders
- Children’s Choir Leaders
- Sacramental Preparation Leaders for Communion and Confirmation
- Pilgrimages involving children or adults who may be vulnerable – volunteers whose involvement with such pilgrims is more than incidental
Examples of roles that do not require vetting in a parish:
- Readers of the Word
- Money Collectors
- Minister of the Eucharist involved only within the Church setting
It is unlawful to allow any person undertake work/activity, which requires vetting, without first having the person vetted.
Vetting process for Parishes
Part One
Applications for vetting are submitted electronically to the National Vetting Bureau (NVB) in a process known as E-Vetting.
The Parish should give the Vetting Invitation form NVB1 to the applicant to complete.
The Applicant should complete Sections 1 and 2 of the NVB1. They must provide a valid e-mail address. If the applicant does not have their own email address they can use the email address of a family member or friend, if they are happy to do so.
If the applicant does not have access to an electronic device or have an e-mail, the parish can contact the Vetting Office for a ‘manual’ form that the applicant can complete in full by hand, known as an NVB2.
Once the NVB1 has been completed by the applicant, the parish should take the following steps :-
- Check that the form has been fully completed, and in particular please ensure that the applicant’s email address is correct and clearly written on the form.
- Section 3 is to be completed by the Parish Priest or Safeguarding Representative, in particular the Email address to which the vetting Disclosure should be sent when the process is complete. NB. This should not be a public email as sensitive information will be sent to it. It may be advisable to set up a vetting email address to be used for this purpose only.
- Proof of Identity - At this point in the process, you must validate the identity of the applicant.
- The parish should remind the applicant to check their inbox and spam/junk mail regularly for the email from the NVB which will contain a link to complete their online vetting form. The applicant will have 30 days to complete it before their application expires from the system in which case they would have to then re-apply.
The National Vetting Bureau recommends that a minimum of two forms of identification are provided to validate the identity of the applicant.
One of these should be photographic, eg. passport or driving licence and one showing the applicant’s current address, dated no more than six months old, eg. a utility bill.
Please see the list of documents in Section 3 of the NVB1. Both documents must result in a combined score of 100 points.
Please note that Public Services Card can no longer be accepted as a form of I.D. due to GDPR as it contains their PPS number. Accepting the Public Services Card would be an offence under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (Section 263, subsection 4).
Part Two
Once the completed form has been received by the Diocesan Office, the details are submitted to the NVB by the Diocesan Liaison Person and the applicant will receive an e-mail from the NVB with a link to complete their online application form. If they do not complete this within 30 days, their application expires and they will have to re-apply. The applicant is e-mailed a reminder from the NVB to complete this form 9 days before it is due to expire.
Once the vetting process is complete, the NVB send the Disclosure to the Diocesan Vetting Office which is then forwarded to the parish.
The NVB1 and photocopies of ID are retained by the Diocesan Vetting Office. Although parishes should not retain the supporting documentation, they should however keep a register of parish volunteers that records the date on which they were vetted.
Re-Vetting
The policy of the Diocese is that those in public ministry must be vetted every three years.
Confidentiality
Vetting is a confidential process and vetting information must only be shared between those with a right of access to it. Within a parish, diocesan office or school setting that means the applicant and the person who signs off on their application on behalf of the organisation.
Vetting Forms
Enquiries to :
Phone : 021 430 1717
