Written answers

Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Department of Social Protection

Social Welfare Code

10:00 pm

Photo of Jonathan O'BrienJonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 53: To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plans for the roll-out of the PPSN card; and the projected costs involved. [15326/11]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department has developed, in conjunction with a number of other Departments, the specifications for a Public Services Card (PSC) under the Standard Authentication Framework Environment, or SAFE, programme. The specification provides for identification features, including a photograph. The aim is to develop a card that acts as a key for access to public services in general, identifying and authenticating individuals as appropriate and where required. Formal sanction to proceed with the project was received from the Department of Finance at the end of 2009. A contract was agreed with Biometric Card Services (BCS) as the managed service provider from early January 2010. The contract is for a complete managed service for the production, maintenance and distribution of the PSC. In summary this entails: · Production of the card · Personalisation of the card · Delivery of the card · Provision of help-desk functionality

All to be undertaken under strict and secure conditions.

The card was designed and production planning carried out during 2010. In addition, a secure card personalisation and distribution centre was constructed in Bray, Co. Wicklow during the year and a specimen PSC was personalised on this site on 8th December 2010. Issue of a PSC requires enhanced and secure client registration processes supported by enhanced ICT solutions. It has been necessary to develop a technical infrastructure within the Department to support the client registration as well as the management and administration of the cards. Development of some this infrastructure is being undertaken by internal resources and this work began last year. Procurement for the remainder was finalised early this year and development work is currently ongoing. In addition, further procurements related to photographic processing have been in progress and an RFT for photographic matching will issue shortly. It is anticipated that the full suite of this functionality will not be available until the autumn of this year at which time the Department will commence the production issue of the card.

However, new functionality aimed at further improving the identity registration and verification process is expected to be ready earlier than that. A pilot of this functionality is expected to begin in a small number of offices in the next few weeks. It is intended that initial registration will involve customers of the Department and will take a number of forms: face to face at DSP Local Offices, through utilising data already held by the Department in relation to the All Ireland Free Travel Scheme and through utilising relevant data already held by the State (e.g. photographs and signatures held by the Passport Office). Productive discussions have been held with a number of agencies in this last regard.

Customers of the Department will be contacted to arrange for capture of the data required to produce and issue a PSC to them. The overall timeframe for completion of initial deployment of a Public Services Card is dependent on the rate at which it will be possible to securely register all of those to whom it will be issued. Initial registration will be carried out in the Department. Other options that may exist for external registration are being explored.

The Public Services Card will replace cards currently in use, such as the Social Services Card and the Free Travel card, with highly secure cards. Other Departments and agencies will also be in a position to use the card and the infrastructure that will support it. The final cost of the project will depend on the actual number of cards issued. However, the current estimated cost is some €24 million for around 3 million cards (i.e. about €8 per card including delivery).

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