Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

Deputy Healy Rae spoke about the large volume of applications for social welfare supports, and a number of Deputies mentioned the issuing of the personal services card. The systems of the Department in a number of areas are currently being updated, as I mentioned in the House before in reply to parliamentary questions. I appreciate there has been a major increase in the volume of applications across all areas of social welfare. We started the roll-out of the personal services card on a trial basis last September, and we expect a large volume of cards to be issued this year - a couple of hundred thousand. My predecessor instituted the practice of requiring people to sign on in person at offices more frequently than was the case before the downturn, because of the large volume of new applications. In addition, payments are made via post offices because, particularly in local areas, the post office probably has a reasonable chance of knowing the people collecting the payments. Electronic signing will take place at offices; it will not be done remotely. We do not have that technology, but in any event I do not think it would be advisable. Signing on will be done electronically rather than on a piece of paper which then needs to be filed. This should improve the speed at which local social welfare offices can operate and result in better record keeping. We expect several hundred thousand of these cards to be issued this year, and the roll-out will be completed over a couple of years.

Anybody involved in the social welfare area knows this card has been talked about for at least ten years. Like Deputy Fleming, I was a member of the Committee of Public Accounts, and I remember departmental officials coming in many years ago to show us the card. When I became Minister, I wanted to know where this famous card was. Happily, last September we began the process of issuing cards, and it will be completed over a couple of years. Ultimately, everybody in the country will have one of these cards, because everybody gets a PPS number when he or she is born or enters the country to become a resident.

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