Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Independent)
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177. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason a drivers licence was retained by staff when a person (details supplied) in Dublin 11 attempted to register for their public service card; the reason this person's passport was not accepted as proof of their Irish citizenship; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3697/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Public Services Card (PSC) has been introduced to enable individuals gain access to public services more efficiently and with a minimum of duplication of effort, while at the same time preserving their privacy to the maximum extent possible. The PSC is designed to replace other cards within the public sector such as the Free Travel Pass and the Social Services Card (SSC) of this Department and to make it easy for providers of public services to verify the identity of customers.

A PSC is currently issued following a registration process. This involves the capture of an individual’s photograph and signature and the verification of identity data including the presentation of supporting documentation. Social Welfare legislation provides for an officer to retain such documentation for inspection for up to 21 days where required.

In the case mentioned, there is no record of an Irish passport having being presented. Rather the documents presented were a United Kingdom birth certificate, and an Irish Driving Licence. As the Driving Licence presented was quite worn, and most of the expected security features were no longer visible, it was retained by the officer handling the registration for proper examination, and a receipt in the prescribed form was issued to the person. That examination has now been completed and the licence is being returned.