Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move an amendment No. 22:

In page 13, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following:

“Amendment of section 242 of Principal Act

6. Section 242 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (4)—(i) by the substitution of following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) his or her Public Services Card,”,

and

(ii) by the substitution of following paragraphs for paragraph (b):

“(b) a card that has been issued to the person by the Minister under section 264 and such other information or documentation as the Minister, an officer of the Minister or a payment service provider, as the case may be, may reasonably require for the purposes of authenticating the identity of that person,

(c) an Irish Passport and such other information or documentation as the Minister, an officer of the Minister or a payment service provider, as the case may be, may reasonably require for the purposes of authenticating the identity of that person, or

(d) such information or documentation as the Minister, an officer of the Minister or a payment service provider, as the case may be, may reasonably require for the purposes of authenticating the identity of that person.”,

(b) in subsection (6)(b)—(i) by the substitution of following for subparagraph (ii):

“(ii) such other information or documentation as the Minster, an officer of the Minister or a payment service provider, as the case may be, may reasonably require for the purposes of authenticating the identity of the appointed person, or”,

and

(ii) by the insertion of the following new paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(c) such information or documentation as the Minster, an officer of the Minister or a payment service provider, as the case may be, may reasonably require for the purposes of authenticating the identity of the appointed person.”,

and(c) by the substitution of following subsection for subsection (7):“(7) Where a person fails to comply with subsection (4) or (6), payment of benefit may be withheld until such time as the identity of the person is authenticated. Possession or production of a Public Services Card shall not be a mandatory requirement for the payment of a benefit.”.”.

Amendments Nos. 22 and 23 are very close to amendments which I had initially put forward in 2017. There are issues on which the Minister and I have agreed and made progress together. However, issues on which we have had many disagreements are in regard to data protection and the public services card. I raised concerns in June 2017 about the public services card. In the Social Welfare Bill of that year, I put forward amendments specifically seeking to ensure that the State would be cognisant of and careful in regard to its legal responsibilities in regard to the public services card. In those debates, we also spoke about the concern as to whether or not people had adequate information in regard to the decisions they were making and in terms of the purposes to which their data would be used. I spoke at that time not simply because I was concerned about the rights of individuals, but because I was very concerned that the State was acting in a way that left itself open to charges of legal negligence, at the least, it not recklessness.

At that time, I put forward amendments which were basically the same as these amendments Nos. 22 and 23 and have the same principle. I sought to ensure that no individuals would be required to have a public services card or have their information registered in an associated single customer view dataset in terms of accessing any services they may need. Amendment No. 22 relates to the accessing of social welfare services and amendment No. 23 relates specifically to other specified bodies.

The concern I expressed at that time has, I think, been vindicated. It is extremely unfortunate that, even as an investigation was under way - a section 10 investigation into the public services card - the Department consistently went ahead in the active promotion of and pushing of the public services card as a requirement, whether mandatory or compulsory, whichever the phrase may be, for those who are accessing services. Indeed, just weeks before the original draft report was produced by the Data Protection Commissioner over a year ago, a new contract was signed.

When we look to the report we have, the figures are very striking, with costs of over €60 million and the associated savings estimated at about €2 million, which is very short. Either way, while the economic argument is very strong and a real concern, there is also a huge concern in regard to the State.At a time when the State had appointed its own arbiter, an independent body which was investigating one of the largest Departments with one of the biggest budgets which most directly affected the lives of citizens in this State, the Department did not pause to consider this contract, or even whether to sign a new one. It is not just important in the context of the Minister's Department - it is important in the context of Ireland and our international reputation. We are one of the key data protection regulators in the world and we have a huge international reputation to maintain. I have been deeply disappointed in some of the ways the response to the office of the Data Protection Commissioner, which has been doing its job, has been framed. I do not claim that I was unique in raising concerns in 2017 because many others did, in particular in civil society. We need to listen when alarm bells are rung because this is a legal process, notwithstanding the fact that the State intends to challenge the findings. Aside from the actions advised by the Data Protection Commissioner, many individuals are also entitled to take cases if they are not given satisfaction by the State.

While these amendments do not address all the concerns, they would have addressed some of them. Specifically, amendment No. 23 sought to make it clear that it is not legally appropriate to require somebody to have a public services card to access a specified service. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, is one of the many Ministers with specified bodies under their aegis and he made a change to this policy, which I acknowledge. He listened and showed why listening was important. We will come to other arguments when the report relating to biometric data is published. This is another area in which the State needs to review some of the arguments which it has put forward with certainty. We can expect the outcome of this investigation shortly and I am not confident in any way that the State's arguments will stand up.

My amendment No. 22 gives an opportunity for the Minister to ensure that in this interim period, whether the actions of the Data Protection Commissioner are being delivered or the State is challenging them through legal processes, an individual who wishes to access services from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection should be required to sign up to a public services card. If somebody has a new child and wants to get child benefit, how can they be expected to add themselves to a database that is potentially facing deletion, with serious concerns having been raised about data protection? Accepting the amendment would allow the Minister to accept other forms of identification, which would allow her to fulfil the key purpose of satisfying herself as to the identification of persons.

I wish we had paused in 2017, and again in 2018 before a new contract was signed. However, accepting this amendment gives the Minister the ability to accept alternative forms of identification when the contract expires in January 2019, as well as use other methods to satisfy herself as to a person's identity. It would allow us to stop digging.