Seanad debates

Tuesday, 26 June 2018

Data Sharing and Governance Bill 2018: Committee Stage

 

2:30 pm

Photo of Patrick O'DonovanPatrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

These amendments relate to the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 and its relationship to this Bill.

In the amendment tabled in respect of section 6, the Senator has proposed that the public services card, or the underlying public service identity data associated with the card, cannot be used as the sole basis by which a person may confirm his or her identity to access a service. Similarly, she proposes to amend section 12 to provide that data may be shared as a "non-mandatory means to verify the identity of a person".

To ensure services are provided to the right person and to protect personal data, service providers must put in place necessary and proportionate requirements for identity verification. The Senator will appreciate that, in light of general data protection regulation, GDPR, and the extreme importance the Government places on the protection of personal data, it is more important than ever that we ensure that providers of public services are certain they are dealing with the correct people.

The State continues - as is appropriate - to invest significant time, money and effort in the public services card, MyGovID, and the underlying standard authentication framework environment, SAFE, registration process. It is a result of the SAFE registration process that the card and MyGovID are the most robust and assured means of establishing a person's identity when he or she accesses a public service. In this context, it is a matter for each service provider to decide the most appropriate means by which to verify a person's identity. This should be necessary and proportionate to each service. It is not appropriate to place a blanket restriction on how the public services card or public service identity data can be used to facilitate data protection. On that basis, I do not propose to accept these amendments.

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