Sir, – While I am glad to see that the issue of the student grant backlog is nearing a conclusion, I wish to draw attention to another problem besetting the further education (FE) system, namely the backlog of Garda vetting applications, which is threatening the outcomes and career prospects of students on vocationally based courses throughout the FE sector, including the pre-nursing course which I co-ordinate.
A number of pre-nursing students who were scheduled to start a three-week stint of work experience on January 14th have been unable to do so. Until their mandatory Garda vetting applications have been returned, the institutions offering them work experience are unable to accommodate them, and rightly so. Applications for these students were sent off in mid-September at the start of the academic year, with a promise of a 13-week turnaround. Now at week 20, none have been returned and despite many enquiries, we have received very little communication on the matter.
While we were told to anticipate delays in processing, this delay is unprecedented and I feel that the people concerned have not understood the serious implications of such a hold- up for the day-to-day running of these courses. Students require a minimum amount of time on placement to fulfil their course requirements thereby gaining invaluable experience in their chosen field.
Successful course completion is being seriously threatened by an under-resourced and disorganised system which suffers from poor communication and a lack of commitment to the people which it purports to serve. – Yours, etc,