Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 13: To ask the Minister for Social Protection when she intends to roll out the new identity card scheme; if she will outline the phases to the scheme and the projected savings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36203/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The phased introduction of the Public Services Card started last month. The registration process is currently being piloted in a number of local offices in the Department, including Tullamore, Sligo and Kings Inn in Dublin. Roll out of the card will be done as securely and speedily as possible but it will take a number of years to complete. The initial focus will be on roll out to Department's clients of working age. The benefits of adopting the Card in the public sector can be found in the following areas:

· Removing the duplication caused by multiple agencies each solving the problem of identity and authentication themselves;

· Reducing the rate of errors and fraud caused by incorrectly identified and authenticated citizens;

· Replacing other State cards currently in use thus producing economies of scale as well as eliminating losses due to, for example, forgery;

· Improving the efficiency of every service delivered by the State. Even an improvement of a few percentage points represents major cost savings.

Given that customers have regular interaction with various State service providers, the existence of the PSC has obvious similar potential savings benefits across the State sector through the reduction of time and effort required for authentication. Specifically in relation to the Department of Social Protection currently, each time customers apply for a service, they are required to provide identification details either by post or in person. The time taken in checking and processing these authentication details would be eliminated if the customers involved had previously reached the required registration standard and had the PSC to prove it.

In the context of welfare fraud the comprehensive roll out of the card would significantly reduce the risks associated with both non-residency and multiple claiming.