Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

A few questions have been asked and I will not repeat them.

The delegates seem to be emphasising that people go through the SAFE process. I have a question about a person has not gone through it and not received a public services card. I know that there is a system in place in the post office where one ticks a series of boxes, one of which concerns identification. I presume a person has to tick it to show that he or she has a public services card and will automatically be paid. In the case of the lady who did not want the public services card and specifically asked the Department for the legislation to show why she had to obtain it, it is my understanding she was told that she would not receive back money. She eventually received it after a period and her pension payments were reinstated. How was her case processed if she did had not gone through the SAFE process? Questions have been raised about the Data Protection Commission. Why has it been slightly revised and pushed out again? Is the commissioner seeking more information from the Department? Has there been a request for more information from the commissioner?

I am very concerned. I do not have a public services card and do not want one until I am very clear on what it means for me. Others have received it and have no problem with it. What am I stopped from accessing? We have heard about the potential to include other areas in which one would need a public services card such as Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grants, passport renewals and driving licence applications, a process now run by a private company. How far will the Department extend the system? If in six months' time I want to apply for a driving licence, will I have to have the public services card? I have my passport, birth certificate and PPS number. It is not just a matter of obtaining the public services card but for what services it will be required. How secure is the Department's systems, given that it is a private company that is involved? A driving licence is renewed through a private company, is it not?