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

It is clear that the Deputy and I have a difference of opinion with regard to its use, and I am not going to change his mind here. However, I refer to the four magnificent words he used: "they do not need". The reason we retain the data on the identification of a person's address is that we need them. As I will probably say later this evening, we believe we have a strong legal basis to do what was anticipated back in 1988 and established in the 2005 law, which has been amended a number of times since then by successive Governments. We have a strong legal basis to deliver our mission, which is to give effective public services to people and that they do not have to prove to State services who they are on multiple occasions, as it is done on a once-and-done basis. Regardless of whether the Deputy likes it, people tell us they are very satisfied with the process.

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