Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Lowry. Today we have spoken a lot about the use of the digital Covid certificate. It is only anecdotal, and I have nothing to back it up, but after the majority of the population registered for the Covid vaccination we suddenly saw a spike in scam calls to mobile phones and so on. I have always wondered whether there was a correlation. Has any research being carried out into that area? It is rather peculiar. Either these criminals were all people who had nothing to do during Covid and exchanged their outside criminal activities for inside criminal activities, or else something else went crazy. During that period we started to get these scam calls.

The great thing about the public service is that my PPS number allows me to access every public service and I can immediately be recognised. I can see how this could develop in time and how a person's PPS number could tie all of the services together. It is the one solid number that identifies the person.

On the personation issue, even with the best will in the world it can happen. Reference was made to social media here. I have been impersonated on social media and I believe that most public representatives have at some stage or other. Anything that will secure that element is something we want.

On the voluntary aspect of opting in or opting out, to a certain degree we are being pushed into a situation from a digital perspective where we really have to opt in. It is becoming more and more difficult to deal with human beings in a bank, for example. Even now when I go into my local branch across the road on Grafton Street there are more machines than people to talk to. The opt in will slowly become mandatory. The Department constantly talks about how comfortable we are with mobile technology and with digital technology. That is a good thing but it is also a bad thing insofar as this comfort has put it into a situation where we no longer question things. Back in the good old days when I was teaching IT I used to say that for every keystroke one makes on a computer somebody somewhere is watching it. This is one of the crucial aspects we are going to have to look at as we move into this digital wallet: who is watching who, and can we guarantee that when I get on my mobile phone I am not going to be scammed with every keystroke I make?

I do not see a subsidiarity issue with this. I see us coming in line with the EU, but I would hope that as we do we take all of the cybersecurity and security issues into account. I thank all of the witnesses for their attendance this morning.