Is This Right? An Irish College Is Garda Vetting Its Students For Certain Courses
Garda vetting for certain jobs is understandable but when it comes into universities and colleges, is that a step too far? Dublin Institute of Technology doesn't think so: DIT is now introducing Garda vetting for young adults and mature students who are applying for their Access Foundation Program. But that's not all: DIT Garda vetting may soon be brought in for at least 30% of courses at the college, says the head of admissions and enrolment planning, Frank Costello.
"We’ve had a really good look at this...The last thing we want to do is prohibit people applying to DIT", Costello told Dublin Inquirer.
“Some students may well have an issue about it, and the placements would have an issue about it as well, and we want to ensure that we’re confident during the course of that year rather than that happening at a later stage,” he said.
“Just to be clear about this, we are, and we have in the past, taken on students from a very diverse background and we are delighted to and we’ll continue to do so".
Garda vetting is typical carried out when working with vulnerable people or children, and is a criminal check that could reveal some past indiscretions that may ruin the careers of applicants.
Dublin City Councillor Gary Gannon, of the Social Democrats said “It simply isn’t fair to discriminate against certain students and not against others". He reckons that a student's past is just that and the measures might put off people who could be great students.
It's definitely an interesting topic and we're curious to hear your thoughts on it...