Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I think it important to point out that my query is not about the merits of expanding the system. I understand there are very many reasons to introduce a card like the public services card and I readily acknowledge the benefits of wider e-governance. However, these systems require a level of public trust in order for them to function properly. At present I think a growing number of people simply do not believe their data are safe and are not sure how their data are going to be used. That is the issue. I am not questioning the card itself. I am questioning the lack of public confidence and trust in the system to maintain people's data safely and to ensure there are proper penalties in place.

As the Minister said, the public services card was introduced in legislation over a long number of years.

I believe that it can be traced back some 20 years when it was first discussed and early arrangements were made. Its function has steadily expanded since then. As a result of it going on for so long, many people were simply unaware of it until they were told they needed to have one of the cards to apply, for example, for a driver theory test. The vast majority of the public did not realise that was the case and that in the coming months the public service card was to be required in order to renew a passport, where their identity has already been safely established through holding an initial passport.

For the eGovernment strategy to succeed, the public needs to know exactly what their data is being used for, who can access it and what are the penalties for those who abuse that access. That has not been spelled out.

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