4.3 How can I seek Garda vetting of a potential employee?

There is a system in place, which it is intended to shortly reflect in legislation, for certain sectors, such as the health service, to have a person vetted by the Gardaí prior to the commencement of employment.  This is undertaken with the consent of the person.  Access to this vetting system is allowed following appropriate training.

The vetting system operates independently of rights which a person has to make a subject access request to the Gardaí for personal data held in relation to them.  However it is important to clarify that a subject access request should not be construed as Garda Vetting, Character Reference, Security Clearance or any interpretation of same.  It is not a thorough process and simply provides personal data held by a data subject at the address provided.  Employers seeking to ascertain the background of potential employees, for whatever purpose, should not require those persons to submit access requests to the Gardaí.  The practice is an abuse of a person’s rights under data protection and is envisaged to be an offence in Section 4(13) of the Acts which is not commenced at present.