Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The PSC has received much public attention over the past number of weeks and I genuinely hope that some of my comments today I have provided some clarity on some of the misunderstandings that have played out in the media over recent weeks.

There have been claims that the card was only conceived in recent years or that it was initially intended as a pilot for social welfare purposes and that there has been mission creep since its introduction. The fact is that the card had its genesis back as far as the 1990s. The purpose was very clear then, but it is also very clear to me today, that it was to provide a means of verifying a person's identity when accessing public services. There has been no mission creep, as the intention was clear from the outset, and we have delivered on our mission.

There are now approximately 3.2 million active users of the PSC, representing more than 80% of the adult population. The PSC provides citizens with the convenience of only having to submit information to verify their identity once. In this context, it should be noted that every week payments valued at approximately €150 million are made via post offices to more than 600,000 people whose identity is verified on each and every occasion by use of the PSC. Every week, approximately 600,000 people make free travel journeys using the card. Every year, approximately 70,000 people over the age of 18 apply for a passport for the first time using the card to avoid having to resubmit identity data to that Department all over again. Almost 400,000 PSC holders - and growing, thankfully - have verified their identity to standard that enables them to access a wide variety of online services with the bodies mentioned above via MyGovID.ie.

I reiterate - and I must be getting through because Members have mentioned it on several occasions - that the PSC has strong public support. Almost 89% of the adult population hold a card and research commissioned from a reputable research agency by my Department published on 1 March this year shows that 96% of cardholders surveyed were either very satisfied or fairly satisfied with the process.

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