Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The public services card, and its online counterpart MyGovID, is the Government’s standard personal identity verification scheme, and it is core to delivering public services to people in a secure and efficient manner. My Department works closely with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection which is the lead implementation body for the production of the PSC, MyGovID, and the SAFE registration process which underpins both.

The SAFE registration process used to establish and verify a person’s identity, increases the privacy protection and security afforded to people by ensuring that the person using a service is the person they claim to be, and by minimising the requirement for people to provide the same identity information over and over again. The use of the card and MyGovID to establish identity with a high level of assurance is fundamental to providing people and the public service a means to protect their data.

As the data controller for data collected during the SAFE registration process, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is committed to ensuring that data relating to people are securely held and used only for relevant business purposes. Its commitment to safeguarding data is reflected in the use of advanced data processing and storage technology, hosting in secure data centres and is reinforced by a range of legislative and administrative provisions that are designed to protect the rights and interests of citizens. They impose obligations in relation to the confidentiality, unauthorised access, unnecessary use, alteration, destruction or disclosure. The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has worked with my Department to publish a Comprehensive Guide To SAFE Registration and The Public Services Card last October, which is available online. Further information, including a detailed set of questions and answers, relating to the card and MyGovID is available on the website psc.gov.ie.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

Regarding current and planed use, the PSC and MyGovID underpins access to social welfare entitlements, first time adult passport applications, citizenship applications, driver theory test applications, and Revenue services. In 2018, access to more public services will be underpinned by the PSC and MyGovID. Details of this plan can be found within the eGovernment Strategy 2017-2020, published in July 2017.

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