Written answers

Tuesday, 20 October 2015

Department of Social Protection

Public Services Card Provision

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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203. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the legislative basis for the public services card; and if there is a legal obligation to be issued one. [36639/15]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department has developed, in conjunction with a number of other Government Departments, a rules based standard for establishing and authenticating an individual’s identity for the purposes of access to public services. This programme of work, which is known as the Standard Authentication Framework Environment or SAFE for short, also provides for the introduction of a Public Services Card (PSC) to enable individuals to 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. A PSC is issued following the SAFE registration of an individual involving verification of their identity including capture of a photograph and signature. The PSC is designed to replace other cards in the public sector such as the free travel pass and the social services card of the Department and to make it easy for providers of public services to verify the identity of customers.

Sections 263 and 263(A) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (as amended) provide the legislative basis for the issue, use, cancellation and surrender of the PSC.

There is no generic mandatory requirement for a citizen to carry a PSC or to produce one on demand. However, the State has elected that certain publicly provided services may only be made available to people in possession of a PSC. This improves the efficiency of the delivery of these services, makes them easier to access, significantly reduces the incidence of fraud and error and considerably reduces the potential for forgery.

All new applicants for a PPS Number as well as all new and existing social welfare claimants are statutorily obliged to satisfy the Department as to their identity. In practical terms, this entails going through the SAFE registration process. Sections 262, 263 (B), 241 and 247(C) of Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 are relevant in this regard.

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