Mr. John McKernan:

There was one other question about the public services card that I will ask Mr. Duggan to answer, but before I do it is worthwhile mentioning, on the issue of the broad campaign, that part of the purpose of the campaign is to increase awareness among people so that they do not fall into fraud accidentally. People need to update us and let us know if their circumstance have changed. The Department is not looking for sympathy, but to a certain extent we are damned if we do and damned if we don't. The Department has been criticised in this House before, including at the Committee for Public Accounts, for not being more visible in its fraud control efforts. We have raised our visibility and now we are being criticised for being visible. There are two sides to it and there is a balance that has to be reached. I can understand that sometimes people think we have gone too far in one direction and at other times we are too meek. It is a learning curve for all of us, and we understand that.

Perhaps Mr. Duggan will talk about the public services card and the issues that were raised by Senator Higgins.