Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I strongly welcome the introduction of a public services card. Will the Minister clarify when she hopes to have the scheme rolled out for every recipient of State benefits? I would like to see it closely married with the free travel scheme, in respect of which there is apparently widespread manipulation and fraud. At a time when our national transport company is struggling to remain solvent and meet its commitments, it is deplorable that the scheme is so poorly regulated and the cards so inefficient that there is a significant opportunity for abuse.

In regard to Senator Paschal Mooney's amendment, I certainly hope there will be no charge for the card. However, it might be useful to have some deterrent in place to prevent people from losing it on a regular basis or wilfully destroying it. If there is a possibility of incurring a charge, people will be less likely to engage in the type of carelessness that would necessitate the provision of replacement cards on a large scale.