Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

The Department has devoted a long number of years' work into the development of this system. Biometric identity security is very well advanced. For example, members of gyms and other clubs are perfectly happy to allow their thumb print or iris print as a confirmation of identity. At this stage, our system relies on a photograph and a signature. I will come back to Senator Kelly as regards his query. Identity fraud is a big problem in modern social welfare systems right around the world because clever people can abuse the system. The courts have taken a very stern view of individuals who commit identity fraud. I refer to a number of such cases last year in which custodial sentences were handed down to persons with multiple identities and this is a growing problem. The development of the card will significantly enhance the Department's capacity to deter this kind of fraud.