GARDA VETTING IN THE GAA
Vetting in the GAA
The GAA has long established the principle of vetting any person who, on our behalf, works with children or vulnerable adults in our Association. This principle is enshrined in rule through our Code of Best Practice in Youth Sport and has become part of the overall recruitment and selection process for those who wish to work with us in the GAA, in a voluntary or paid role.
When the Irish government commenced the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts on 29 April 2016 it brought mandatory vetting on the island of Ireland into being, given that it had previously been a legal requirement under AccessNI.
It is now a criminal offence, for a person acting on behalf of the GAA, or for the GAA as an Association to permit any person to commence working with children on behalf of the Association without that person first obtaining a vetting disclosure from the Nation Vetting Bureau in respect of the role for which they have been recruited.
E Vetting
The GAA is one of the first organisations to introduce e-Vetting or vetting on-line on an all-Ireland basis following the commencement of GAA e-Vetting through the newly established National Vetting Bureau (NVB). e-Vetting replaces all previous paper vetting systems which also brings us in line with similar e-vetting services as coordinated by Ulster GAA for AccessNI.
How can you be Vetted?
The purpose of this form is to facilitate your application for a position within the GAA working with children and/or vulnerable persons. This application process requires you to provide some personal information to the GAA, to have that information verified by the Children’s Officer of your GAA Club, and to share that information with the GAA National Children’s Office.
The GAA National Children’s Office will then initiate an e-vetting request with the National Vetting Bureau on your behalf. Following this you will receive an e-mail from the National Vetting Bureau with a link to a secure web portal, owned and managed by the NVB, where you will be required to enter further personal information. This will enable vetting to take place.
Upon completion of the vetting process you will be notified of the outcome by the GAA National Children’s Office. If your application has been accepted, you will be free to take up your position within the GAA.
Please note that the GAA will only retain your personal information for the duration of the e-vetting process and will inform your Club upon receipt of application and completion of the vetting process.
Open to the GAA e-vetting application form by clicking here
Complete your personal information on the online form
You must provide a valid email address as correspondence from the NVB relating to your application will only be issued by email
You will have to provide documentary photographic evidence of your identity (e.g. Passport, Drivers Licence) and proof of current address (e.g. utility bill). The full list of documents which are accepted for this verification can be found here
For applicants aged under 18 years, please note that there are additional steps required to submit the e-vetting form. A parental consent form (NVB Parent/Guardian Consent Form) must be completed, this is available here
You must validate the documentation that you are providing. There are two approaches to doing this:
Present the documentary evidence for review to you Club’s Children’s Officer. Then you must scan and submit the documentation using the upload facility on the online form
Furnish the documentary evidence to your Club’s Children’s Officer for validation and retention. If you choose this method of validation you are required to also complete an ID Retention Form.
Once you have entered the necessary details, click submit to complete the first step in the process. The details that you entered will be mailed to you, for your records, and your club secretary will be notified that an application has been received in your name (no details are shared)
Within a few days you will receive an email from the NVB which will contain a link to your online e-vetting form. Please complete this form promptly.
The vetting process will then be conducted and you will receive notification of the outcome via email, your club secretary will be notified that your application has been completed.