Despite claims from the opposition that the screening procedure has been loosened in order to boost recruitment, the government has maintained that new candidates are being thoroughly screened, reports RTE.
During contentious discussions in the Dáil, Labour’s spokesperson on justice, Alan Kelly, made accusations that Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan denied.
Full screening “would no longer take place” for new recruits at the Garda Training College in Templemore, according to Mr. Kelly, who brought up the matter during a discussion on justice concerns, reports RTE.
According to him, this “sent shockwaves” across the various garda organisations.
“If gardaà are not going to be vetted, then how can standards be maintained?” he asked, reports RTE.
Mr. O’Callaghan said that Garda Commissioner Drew Harris had told him that the state’s screening process is “the most stringent in the State” and is carried out in a central bureau.
Although he admitted that the way the vetting procedure is carried out has changed, he insisted that this does not imply that they are “not vetted.”
According to him, when a new recruit applies to Templemore, their personal information is first vetted. Security checks and local vetting then take place, followed by a follow-up check by the National Vetting Bureau, reports RTE.
According to the minister, “once they are out on the street they are vetted to the same extent,” thus this is essentially the same as the prior vetting procedure.
But according to Mr. Kelly, the assertion is “Comical Ali stuff.”
“You need to guarantee there are not people in Templemore who are training who should not be training,” he said, reports RTE.
Mr. Kelly said that “trainee gardaà are out on patrol who are not fully vetted” and that it is “not factually correct” to state that new garda recruits are vetted to the same level as their predecessors.
“There are gardaà across the country of varying ranks who are disgusted by this,” he added, reports RTE.
He stated that he thinks the adjustment in screening was made to boost official garda recruit numbers and that those who are not thoroughly vetted have access to police uniforms and firearms.
According to Mr. O’Callaghan, the modifications were made to expedite the hiring procedure and ensure that all screening is completed prior to an individual being officially appointed as a garda, reports RTE.
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