Volunteers in Irish Designated Centres: Vetting, Training and Supervision Guide

This guide covers Ireland. For the UK equivalent, see our guide: Volunteer Training Requirements in Healthcare Settings.

Volunteers can add a great deal to life in a nursing home or other designated centre for older people, but the Irish Regulations place specific duties on the person in charge when people give their time unpaid. Regulation 30 of the Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 415 of 2013) requires three things: roles set out in writing, supervision and support, and a vetting disclosure. This guide explains each, using the Regulations, the National Vetting Bureau Act 2012 and HIQA's own publications. It is written for persons in charge, managers and HR leads in Dublin and nationally, since the law applies across the State.

Our separate guide to Garda vetting for healthcare workers in Ireland covers the process in more depth for staff.

What Regulation 30 says

Regulation 30 is headed "Volunteers". It says the person in charge shall ensure that people involved on a voluntary basis with the designated centre:

• have their roles and responsibilities set out in writing;
• receive supervision and support; and
• provide a vetting disclosure in accordance with the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012.

The duty sits with the person in charge, not only with the registered provider. The 2025 amendments (S.I. 98 of 2025, in operation from 31 March 2025) changed many other provisions, but the list of changes in that instrument does not include Regulation 30.

Volunteers are not "staff" under the Regulations

Regulation 2 defines "staff" as persons employed by the registered provider to work at a designated centre, including agency-placed workers, and it states that the term does not include a volunteer. The Regulations do not give a separate definition of "volunteer".

On our reading, this matters because the training and staff development duties in Regulation 16 are worded around "staff". Regulation 30 is the provision written specifically for volunteers, and it does not itself mention training. Providers should not treat volunteers as outside the system, and should decide what induction and training each volunteer role needs. For how the staffing and training rules work for employees, see our guide to staffing and training in designated centres.

Vetting: what the National Vetting Bureau Act says

The National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 is the Act that Regulation 30 refers to. The revised text on the Law Reform Commission's Revised Acts site is shown as updated to 23 June 2026. The main points are:

• The rule (section 12). A relevant organisation must not employ someone, contract for their services, or permit them to undertake relevant work or activities on its behalf, unless it has received a vetting disclosure from the Bureau for that person. The permission limb applies "whether or not for commercial or any other consideration", so it is not limited to paid roles. The word "volunteer" is not used in the section.
• What counts as relevant work. The Act defines relevant work or activities by reference to Schedule 1. Part 2 of Schedule 1 (vulnerable persons) covers work or activity, a necessary and regular part of which consists mainly of the person having access to, or contact with, vulnerable persons, including in a designated centre within the meaning of section 2 of the Health Act 2007 that provides residential services to vulnerable persons, and the provision of educational, training, cultural, recreational, leisure, social or physical activities, subject to exceptions in some items where the work or activity is merely incidental.
• Who applies (section 13). Applications are made by a liaison person for the relevant organisation, not by the individual on their own behalf.
• Offences. Breach of section 12 is an offence under section 12(2). Section 27(1) provides, on conviction on indictment, a fine of up to 10,000 euro or imprisonment of up to five years, or both. There is also a defence in section 12(3) where the accused neither knew nor could reasonably be expected to know the work was relevant work or activities.

The National Vetting Bureau website says vetting is conducted on behalf of registered organisations only, not for individuals on a personal basis, and that an organisation must not let someone do relevant work unless it has received a vetting disclosure. Citizens Information (page last edited 27 February 2024) explains that vetting covers staff, contractors, agency workers, volunteers, students and apprentices in roles with children or vulnerable adults, that applicants complete an e-Vetting or paper application after the organisation requests it, and that the disclosure goes to the organisation's liaison person. The same page says people are currently not required to be re-vetted unless they change roles in a sports or community group, and that the Government is reviewing the system. That is a general summary from Citizens Information, not the text of the Act. The revised Act's own note says the re-vetting provision in section 20 had not been commenced as at the revision date, so check the position before relying on it.

What HIQA looks at: roles, supervision and support

HIQA's assessment-judgment framework for designated centres for older people lists, for Regulation 30, whether volunteers have their roles and responsibilities set out in writing, have received supervision and support, and have a vetting disclosure under the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012.

The National Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People (2016) support this: feature 3.1.8 says the person in charge acts as a resource for staff, carers or volunteers with protection concerns.

HIQA rates each regulation as compliant, substantially compliant or not compliant. Substantially compliant means the requirements have generally been met but some action is needed, and not compliant means considerable action is required.

Records for volunteers

Regulation 21 sets out how long the records in Schedules 2, 3 and 4 must be kept, and those schedules are written around staff, residents and operational records. Regulation 21 does not set a retention period specifically for volunteer files. Regulation 30 does expect roles in writing, supervision and support, and a vetting disclosure, so records that show these are sensible. Our suggestion: keep a volunteer file with the same discipline as a staff file, and take advice on retention and data protection from your own policies. For how vetting fits alongside the rest of the recruitment file, see our guide to recruitment, vetting and fitness of staff in designated centres.

A practical volunteer checklist (our suggestion)

None of the following is a legal requirement unless stated above. It is one way to put Regulation 30 into everyday practice.

• Write a role description for every volunteer role. State what the volunteer may do, who they report to on each shift, and what they should refer to staff.
• Complete vetting before the first session. Arrange the application through your organisation's vetting liaison person, and keep the disclosure on file.
• Run a short orientation. Cover topics such as infection prevention and control, fire safety, protection from abuse and how to report concerns (our suggestion).
• Name a supervisor. Make sure staff on duty know a volunteer is in the building and who is responsible for them.
• Ask residents. Gather feedback on volunteer activities and record how it was used.
• Review annually. Consider including volunteering in your annual review of quality and safety.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

Does a volunteer who visits only occasionally need vetting?

Regulation 30 does not set a minimum number of hours. Schedule 1 of the Act defines relevant work by reference to work or activity, a necessary and regular part of which consists mainly of having access to, or contact with, vulnerable persons, and some items exclude work that is merely incidental, so decide each role with your organisation's vetting liaison person rather than assuming either way.

Who is responsible for volunteers in a designated centre?

Regulation 30 places the duty on the person in charge, who must ensure roles are in writing, volunteers are supervised and supported, and vetting disclosures are provided.

Are volunteers counted as staff?

No. Regulation 2 states that the definition of "staff" does not include a volunteer, and Regulation 30 sets the specific requirements for people involved on a voluntary basis.

Do volunteers have to be re-vetted?

Citizens Information, on a page last edited on 27 February 2024, says people currently do not need to be re-vetted unless they change roles in a sports or community group. This is a general summary from Citizens Information, not the text of the Act. Your own policy may set a review point, and the position may change.

What training should volunteers get?

Regulation 30 does not mention training. Decide what orientation and training each volunteer role needs, for example infection prevention and control, fire safety, and protection and reporting of abuse (our suggestion).

Clear roles, proper vetting and good supervision protect both residents and the volunteers who support them.