Case Struck out/Case Dismissed in District Court: declared on garda vetting?

[gmarty]

Hi all, if a persons case was struck out or if it was dismissed, does this have to be declared on garda vetting as technically one would not have a conviction. Im hearing one thing from one person and different from another and I am all confused! Has anyone experienced the process of garda vetting and disclosures? Thank you in advance.

thanks for all the help

 

[Slim]

Garda vetting will have record of all charges as well as convictions. Where case is dismissed, candidate should be able to make a case in writing to prospective employer about the circumstances.

 

[Vanessa]

The report received from Gardai will state that the person was never convicted of a crime ( or was as the case may be)
The Garda pulse will have record of a charge but that cannot be mentioned if vetted.
What may be coming down the line is what is called soft intelligence especially relating to child protection. A person may report seeing a man loitering near a kids playground. The Gardai are notified, arrived and take the mans name even though no offence was committed, If it is put on the PULSE system it will show that Joe Bloggs was seen loitering around a kids playground. What might not be recorded is that the man was waiting for his wife and child who had arranged to meet at the playgrond

 

[Brooklyn]

I have just recently seen a Garda vetting report which contained details of a charge which was struck out.

 

[Vanessa]

I have just recently seen a Garda vetting report which contained details of a charge which was struck out.

I stand corrected. This is disturbing as we are back to the "no smoke without fire" scenario. If an employer saw that what would their impression be

 

[ajapale]

This blog provides some interesting insights to the procedure.

http://aclatterofthelaw.com/tag/police-certificate-of-character/

Update (11 May 2010)
Fergal Mawe has an article in the May edition of the Law Society Gazette (pp.20-21 of [broken link removed]) about the Garda vetting procedure and potential breaches of rights.

[T]he garda vetting form … refers to “a statement of all convictions and/or prosecutions, successful or not, pending or completed, in the state or elsewhere as the case may be”.

Say, for instance, if one were to be charged, prosecuted – but not convicted – the Garda Vetting Unit would still inform the employer that the applicant had been prosecuted, even if the outcome had been a not guilty verdict.

To this end, the applicant would undoubtedly have his or her chances of winning the position severely damaged, if not totally eroded, due to the suspicion of a criminal history and an inference of guilt. On this point, it is hard not to see a series of breaches of a person’s human and constitutional rights – namely the right to a good name, the right to earn a living, the right to privacy, as well as a fair trial and a presumption of innocence.

To put it simply, if we are to live with a just legal system based on the presumption of innocence, an individual ought not to be prejudiced by prosecutions that did not lead to a criminal conviction.​

 

[Complainer]

Would Garda vetting show up a person who had been appeared in the Revenue listings and Iris Ofiguil for being fined €1k to €5k for not submitting tax returns?

 

[Time]

If fined in court yes. Otherwise no.

 

[Complainer]

If fined in court yes. Otherwise no.

Am I right in thinking that most appearances on Revenue lists for non-filing of returns would NOT be fined in Court?

 

[destroyed]

I know from bitter experence that even after going to court and being found innocent that garda vetting will treat you as guilty and cause very long delays in any licencing application that requires garda vetting. So much for a persons good name as protected in the irish constution

 

[WizardDr]

It could be a constitutional issue if somebody who had a case dismissed and then found themselves in fact penalised - eg not getting a job - because of the disclosure.

This would seem at face value to be a breach of Constitutional rights - to a livelyhood - and being deprived of that is a aserious matter.

Did you ever consider a judicial review?

 

[ajapale]

To put it simply, if we are to live with a just legal system based on the presumption of innocence, an individual ought not to be prejudiced by prosecutions that did not lead to a criminal conviction.

Fergal Mawe in an article in the May edition of the Law Society Gazette (pp.20-21)