Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yes. The registration process is called Safe. With regard to older people and the query raised by Senator Moloney, we are making arrangements for older people. We hope to have most of the cards rolled out by the end of next year. Our target to the end of this year is 600,000 cards and we are well on target to achieve that or even go beyond it. When the Safe registration process is undertaken and somebody comes to sign up for a card, the software performs a search of the captured or imported customer photograph - it is imported if it comes from a passport photo - against existing photographs on the Department's database to ensure the individual has not already been registered for a public services card using a different personal public service number. We are aware that some people may have multiple public service numbers because, particularly during the boom, huge numbers of public services numbers were issued.