Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's answer. The word "shortly" can cover a multitude but I understand where she is coming from and I am not trying to be facetious. However, it would be good to have a more definitive position on this matter from the Government. There are issues regarding minors, in particular, and the very personal information held regarding people under the age of 18. It would be helpful to have the Minister's perspective in terms of accessing services in those instances. My understanding of the issue - I could be wrong and, if so, I will defer to the Minister - is that the question arises as to whether the requisite data protection impact assessment was carried out in respect of the card.

Finally, if the public services card is to succeed and to transcend its use only within the Minister's Department, consideration should be given, for instance, to its potential use as a form of identification for service users of credit unions.

See this speech in context