garda clearance but old drug offence

Query – my Husband was asked to get Garda Clearance for Sons Hurling team as he helps train the kids.

Unfortunately 20 years when he was a young man was in bad crowd and up to no good and was found in posession of marjuinna (small amount street value £20). He was 17 when found in possession and this ended up in Court when he was 18 and he was fined, from memory £50 which was paid. I presume possession and a fine is classed as a conviction. He has never been in trouble since, married, children, house and owns his own business.

My question is as this was 20 years ago do you fill this out on the Vetting form? If so, he will opt out of training the kids as he would not like members of the Club knowing his past which he would rather forget.

If the above stays on your record, is it possible to appeal to have your name cleared?

If teenagers only knew how something silly like the above can cause problems in life!

The offence is very minor, but still has serious effects.

It depends on who the Garda issue the vetting report to. If they issue it to your husband, then he can choose not to release it if it contains the drug offence, and make his excuses as to why he cannot train the kids. The garda may not include the drugs reference, as they may see that it doesn't seem to be relevant.

If the garda intend to issue it directly to the team, then that's a problem. I find it hard to believe that the garda would issue the report directly to the team. There would be privacy issues, and the issue of genuine mistakes.. if the report was issued with mistakes, .. it wouldn't be possible to put the genie back in the bottle, and so the garda should really check the details before releasing it to third parties.

Would there be a record somewhere of his offence? There might not be,.. at least not a computerised record,.. in which case perhaps the police will miss it. They do ask for all addresses, even foreign ones, .. so they do vet people quite effectively.

The US imigration will likely take a stronger stance, and it's likely he could never enter the US. Of course the US drug laws are too strong in my opinion, and adolescent experimentation in the US can have lifelong consequences.

Firstly, Garda Vetting is only carried out for (and issued to) certain organisations, so your husband would have to complete the form and give it to the GAA and they would receive the results back.

I know, from the experience of a family member who was in a very similar situation (caught with drugs one week before he turned 18, convicted at 18 and paid a fine) that such a conviction does turn up on the vetting report.

There is proposed legisation, going back years, to allow for certain convictions to become "spent" after a number of years. The current government have said that they will bring the bill forth this summer. A copy of the last version of it can be found here. It is subject to change but it is worth noting that, under this bill, the obligation to report all convictions would remain where a person is working with children.

I would add that, there is a risk that if he opts out of training the kids rather than undergo vetting, his colleagues may think he is hiding something much worse.

The Gardai may issue the vetting details but it's up to the organisation to decide on how to proceed.

I see no problem with a 20-yr old conviction, you can explain it to them if it appears on the form (it may not) and perhaps if needed, add a covering letter.

thanks everyone - you are ment to, according to form return to the GAA but club has asked to return form to them and they are sending them all in together!

Will talk to head coach and explain.... don't want to step back or people will think he has a very dark past as someone mentioned!

Heard about US before hence we didn't go there on honeymoon - radio show on near wedding saying some people put back on flight over minor drug offence that happened years back!

Thank you all - this is such an eye opener and hopefully others will read this and see how silly mistake can cause shame 20 years down the line!

Will keep ear out on this new legislation that will have your convictions "spent"...for future reference!

I deal with Garda Vetting & something which happened 20 yrs ago may or may not show up - the records weren't kept as well as they are now. My advice would be to talk informally to the person in the club who is dealing with the vetting forms before you hand in the completed form. Be honest about it, I have had people who weren't honest and then the form is returned with lots of disclosures on it and that means I can't take them on. One chap had been involved in something quite serious a number of years ago but he was completely honest about it and he has turned out to be one of our best guys!

Hi

There should be no need for any level of shame or fear in relation to a minor offence that happened 20 years ago. The purpose of the Garda vetting procedures is to provide assurance in relation to child protection and safety. Once the prior offence didnt have any relevance to child protection, then I would imagine it will be ignored, although I understand that its existence must be notified as part of the vetting procedure.

If your husband has any concerns in relation to the handling of his vetting form or the confidentiality of the process, he should consider getting in touch with either the designated Child Protection Officer of your County Board or the National Children's Officer in Croke Park.

Best of luck with it.

The way sports club vetting works is that the governing body will have an officer who is appropriately trained to deal with vetting applications. The Gardai give this officer the information, but it is up to the sports organisation, after receiving this information, to decide whether or not the person is appropriate. Since this vetting is for child protection purposes, I doubt that the offence outlined by the OP would be considered relevant and should not prevent the person from being cleared. The vetting officer is the only person in the sports organisation who is permitted to read the vetting forms and receive the information - all the local club/members will be told is that the applicant is ok or not ok to coach - they will not receive any details, so there should be no danger of clubmates finding out about the past offence.

Its important to be truthful on these forms - some sports organisations take the view that if you are not truthful, you should not be passed regardless of what the Gardai turn up.