Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The response does not answer the primary question the Chairman put. In fact, we are trying to piece that information together. Mr. Watt did not address, for example, the lawful use of the card. The report of the Data Protection Commissioner was very interesting in that it highlighted the fact that while the chip on the card has to be read, the technology to do so is not in place in some of the bodies that would be using the card to update people's information. The report identified many issues and was comprehensive. I wonder whether people were asked about them in the satisfaction survey. They presumed the card was an enabler whereas the Data Protection Commissioner drew attention to the fact that it was the opposite. It was about delaying or denying services, with a number of examples provided in that regard.

We need a digital strategy. Most members here agree. However, it must be underpinned by law and cannot be something that happens by way of creep. It is not acceptable that the Department cannot answer the questions we ask. We heard last week that the National Transport Authority, NTA, harvests a great deal of information from the public services card, which makes it possible to identify, albeit not necessarily by that body, every trip taken. The Chairman raised that matter himself. That is mass surveillance. There is a question of balance, rights and whether this will cost money on foot of some future dispute between the Data Protection Commissioner and the Department. There was something obvious in that regard in yesterday's budget. The Data Protection Commissioner told us last week the workload the commission would have and what its expectation was for next year's budget. However, it did not get the money to do the work and will have to reassess its workload. This is the regulator not just for Ireland but the lead authority for the European Union.