Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We accept and are not querying the need to verify people's identities, but the process will enable the creation of a massive database of citizens' data. That database may well improve the administration and delivery of public services, but it is also important to state that increased data sharing does not necessarily lead to increased data quality. The streamlining of services and the reduction of costs, while important, are separate issues.

We submitted amendments to try to address the problem of coerced consent, which is prohibited under GDPR. The fundamental fact remains that, according to Article 4 of GDPR, consent when required for data processing must be freely given and cannot be coerced. There may well be a legal basis for the public services card and the data chain that goes with it in the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, but there is no legal basis for withholding public services from a person who does not agree to this large-scale sharing of his or her data.

We know most people do not have a problem with their data being shared these days on various Internet sites and social media outlets but it does not change the fact that privacy is a human right and we cannot be selective in how we observe human rights. The Minister of State made the point that the Bill will give data sharing a legal basis but it will not if it is illegal under EU law, so we will see about that.

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