Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I was the Minister responsible for introducing the public services card. Ireland spends about €20 billion a year on social welfare payments to people. The public services card has enabled a much better quality of service, with greater speed and effectiveness. This applies particularly to the free travel enjoyed by pensioners and the disabled. People can now do their business with a far greater degree of privacy and confidence than was the case before the card was introduced.

I am raising this question because I am really concerned that what has been a very significant achievement of the public service in Ireland, together with the development of the Intreo services and offices, where people can go and do their business with privacy and make appointments, etc., is being put at risk by the failure of this Government. In particular, I refer to some of the comments made by the current Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, in which she spoke of compulsory and mandatory use of the card. The Government is raising a fear that data are not secure, and people are entitled to be assured that they are secure and properly regulated by law. There is mission creep in relation to the proposal for driving licence applications.

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