Mr. John McKeon:

I respect the view of the Data Protection Commission but I would not agree with a lot of what has been said. I would be happy to go into greater detail but I do not know if it would serve any purpose. I disagree vehemently with a lot of it. The policy in respect of the public services card was set out very clearly in 1998 and anyone who reads the legislation or the debates of that time, or about the changes made in 2004 or 2005, will see that the policy has not changed at all. There has been no function creep. If there is a legitimate criticism of the public services card programme, it is that it did not happen at the pace at which it was meant to happen. There was non-delivery of mission, rather than mission creep, and this began to be addressed in 2011. I was not involved at that time but I am happy to debate this with anybody. Just because something is said does not make it true.

I have looked at the documentation relating to the business case. There are specification plans, project plans and roll-out plans and the Comptroller and Auditor General has a list of the 17 or 19 cases. There were gaps but I do not believe they were to the extent that is being suggested.