Results 9,121-9,140 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: An entire team of people across the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, my Department and the Office of the Attorney General was responsible for sending the response back to the report from the Data Protection Commissioner. What was the second question?

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: I do not why that was done to be honest. We provided the information as it was required. I said on previous occasions that the response to the original report in December 2018 was extensive. It went to 470 pages and so we replied with all the information requested of us and some. What was the last question the Deputy asked me?

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: I beg the Deputy's pardon. He asked about the evidence. The research speaks for itself. It does not say that 100% of Irish people were happy with it; of course some people are not.

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: I was not aware of any plans to extend the medical card until I read about them in the newspaper, which is presumably where the Deputy read about them as well. I cannot answer a question about plans of which I was not aware in the first instance. To answer the Deputy's previous question, a scanned PDF document was sent to the DPC to assist it in searching the document. That is why it...

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: Which companies?

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: The answers to those questions are "No" and "No".

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: The supporting documentation for the project was released to the DPC in December 2018. Not only was there a business case, but the supporting documentation on the questions and answers, transparency, and privacy was laid before the commission as a response to the initial draft report in 2018.

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: I do not have the exact date for when the business case was designed but I can come back to the Deputy on that. In response to the second question, I am appealing all eight findings. However, I am not currently in a position to appeal anything as nothing in the report is legally challengeable. At this stage, all we can do is say we disagree with all eight findings as presented to us on 15...

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: My response is the same as previously. I do not have a date for when the business case was established but I can come back to the Deputy with it later today. The total number of cards issued to date is 3.9 million, which have been issued to 3.2 million people. Some people lose their cards and need to get a second one, and others reach an age where they need to change their cards to add...

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: The original Comptroller and Auditor General report found that the Government indicated no business case. He found that the Government made decisions in 2004 and 2005 that formed the basis of the PSC project, and that a business case or project plan was not developed at that time. However, following examination of key project data and documents that were supplied to our Department by the...

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: I did not answer that FOI request, as is the norm in most Government bodies. The people who reply to FOI requests do so in the best interests of the Department and according to the established legal plan that sets out our response. I take a slightly different view insofar as I feel we should robustly defend the policy we have instigated over several Governments. I am proud to do so,...

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: I cannot comment, because the person who answers FOI requests does not respond or directly report to me. If I attempted to question his or her direct response back to the person who requested it, we would be in a whole different space here. Perhaps the Deputy would ask for that information through the FOI system, because I certainly do not share that view.

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: We only make provision in the Estimates, and given that this was only received on 15 August this year, there is no provision in this year's Estimates for it. I cannot comment on something that I read in the newspapers that we have no knowledge of. I am sorry but I am not in a position to do that.

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: I do not know if that Department got advice, other than what has been said to me here this evening. It is not my business what other Ministers do around the rolling out of their policies. I disagree with the Deputy that there is a variance with any Department on the assistance that a PSC gives when delivering public services. We are all at one when saying that if people have a card, it...

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: A number of things have been said about me here today: that I have been dismissive of Members, that I am arrogant; and that I have been incredulous about the commissioner's refusal to meet us. If I have ever been dismissive of any Member, I give an apology right here and now. That was never my intention. I understand that we have differences of opinion on a wide variety of policy delivery...

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: It is not a ruling. That would give legal authority to it and we do not want to find ourselves in a position of not being able to legally challenge. As far as I am aware, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has not changed its policy at all. There was always a mechanism to get a passport without a PSC, and that remains true today. There was no change.

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: 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...

Public Services Card: Statements (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: Almost nine out of ten people agree that it is very useful that other Government service providers may be able to use the identity information provided in obtaining the PSC to avoid the need to provide the same information again. Of those surveyed, 88% felt that they either had access to the right level of information in respect of the SAFE-PSC process or had access to more than the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: There are almost 425,000 State pension contributory and 95,000 State pension non-contributory recipients. It is not possible to accurately categorise pension recipients into either single persons living alone or couples. Both state pension (contributory) and (non-contributory) recipients may claim an increase for qualified adult where their spouse, civil partner or cohabitant is being...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Reports (25 Sep 2019)

Regina Doherty: As part of Budget 2019, I announced my intention to commission research into the cost of disability. This is the first step in reaching an in-depth understanding of this complex issue. I hope that this research, when complete, will inform policy direction in relation to the provision of adequate supports to meet the needs of people with disabilities from a whole-of-Government perspective....