500,000 IRISH CHECKED FOR CHILD SAFETY; Charity wants more info for parents.

Byline: LYNNE KELLEHER

MORE than half-a-million people have been vetted by gardai over the past three years to protect the nation's children.

Priests and sacristans are among hundreds of thousands of people volunteering to be checked out by the force every year.

The religious orders, which have pastoral responsibility for more than a million young people, have now voluntarily signed up to be vetted as part of the Garda drive to reassure parents on their kids' well-being.

Since the beginning of 2006 more than half a million people have had their pasts looked into by the Garda Central Vetting Unit.

The number of employees checked for criminal records has more than doubled from 100,000 in 2003 to 218,404 in 2008.

Charity and voluntary groups working with children have all signed up to be given the all-clear by the gardai along with disability organisations and people working with vulnerable adults and the Adoption Board.

A Garda spokesman said: "Details of all convictions and prosecutions whether they are successful or not or pending or completed in the state or elsewhere as the case may be, are disclosed to the authorised liaison person in the registered organisation."

Checks on clergy are part of the Church's efforts to reassure parents in the wake of the recent abuse scandals.

The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church was set up last year to shape its child safeguarding policies.

Director of services for the ISPCC Caroline O'Sullivan said the move by the Church is to welcomed.

She added: "Since 2006, vetting is open to all the voluntary organisations and now the Church is opting to go through the process.

"It was hiding behind a veil of secrecy but now there is much more openness. Up to this staff in creches, youth clubs and places like Girl Guides may not have been vetted and even more frightening people in child protection agencies were not vetted until 2006.

"Parents can now ask at their children's creche or other organisations caring for their children if the staff have been vetted."

Ms O'Sullivan said the ISPCC wants it to become law that people working with kids or vulnerable adults will have to be vetted.

Although convictions can be disclosed, the ISPCC are also fighting for "softer" information to be passed on by the gardai.

She said: "For example, there could be cases where there was harm done to a child but the child didn't want to prosecute. At the moment, the gardai aren't really able to disclose information about cases that don't involve criminal convictions."