Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

My view with regard to Irish Water, and I said this a number of weeks ago and before other people commented, is that the undertaking is of such a significant size that it will take a considerable number of years to roll out. I said that in the Dáil more than a couple of weeks ago. That is the first point.

Second, PPS numbers are already used in communications with utility companies and An Post has unique identifiers, for example, for household benefits customers. Financial institutions are required to use PPS numbers under the legislation of 2008. I am sure the Deputy is familiar with that. The PPS number is used to access a wide variety of services, such as social welfare services, free travel, pupil identification in the context of education, public health services, including the medical card and drug payment schemes, optical, dental and audiology benefits which may be provided to people by practitioners, child immunisation, all the Revenue Commissioners' schemes, housing grants, driver theory testing, driver licences, school transport schemes operated by the Department of Education and Skills, passport applications and passport renewals, and civil registration services including birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certification. All of this is regulated both by the legislation under which it falls and under the remit of the Data Protection Acts.

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