Vetting for the Arts

Update 21st October 2022:

Please note that as part of our commitment to best practice in the field, we have temporarily suspended our vetting service for self-employed people/ private practitioners, pending review.

ID verification information:

An essential part of the vetting process, and the preferred option for checking ID information, is a face-to-face meeting. During the COVID-19 pandemic however, this poses a health risk. To manage the risks created by face-to-face contact, organisations may wish to take a more flexible approach such as accepting scanned documents and signature.

This approach allows us to provide this service while following public health guidelines and working from home. For details on how to proceed, please email vetting[at]create-ireland.ie.

Garda vetting is provided in Ireland by the National Vetting Bureau (NVB) of An Garda Síochána. Under the National Vetting Bureau (Children & Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016 a person, company, organisation or group providing relevant services to children or vulnerable persons must have vetting in place for any person they employ, contract or permit to undertake ‘relevant work and activities’. This is where ‘a necessary and regular part consists mainly of the person having access to, or contact with, children or vulnerable persons’. It includes full-time, part-time, voluntary work and student placements. Vetting under the Act can only be conducted in respect of such persons and activities.

Create is registered with the National Vetting Bureau to represent other persons, organisations and groups in accessing vetting for bona-fide reasons of employment or engagement in relevant work or activities in the arts and culture. Since 2007, we have provided access to vetting for a large number of organisations including arts centres, commissioners, production companies, arts events and festivals, film-makers, community cultural groups, and creative activities.

To process vetting through Create, you must be affiliated to the vetting service. Create provides access to the national online e-Vetting system, which means speedy processing of applications, where affiliates can track the progress of their application online.

Under the Children First Act 2015, a provider of relevant services to children is required to complete a Child Safeguarding Statement and must appoint a designated person as the first point of contact in respect of the Child Safeguarding Statement.

In accessing vetting, affiliates authorise An Garda to process sensitive personal data through Create. We are committed to safeguarding the privacy rights of affiliates and vetting applicants. All personal information in our care is treated with the highest standards of security and confidentiality, in accordance with data protection law and regulation.

As of 1 January 2020 all new employers wishing to use Create’s Vetting for the Arts Service to access Garda vetting must contact the Garda National Vetting Bureau in the first instance to establish if they are undertaking relevant work.

If your service is approved by the National Vetting Bureau they will give you a reference number. Create will be unable to process vetting applications for new employers without this number. If you are not already affiliated to Create, please contact us to find out if we can help you or your organisation to access vetting, after receiving your registration number from the Vetting Bureau.

To contact the Garda National Vetting Bureau – Phone 1890 488488 or Email: vetting[at]garda.ie

You can find links to additional information on vetting and protection issues to read and download on this page.