Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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158. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) has been requested to register for a safe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19124/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Social Protection, in conjunction with a number of other Government Departments, has developed a rules based standard for establishing and authenticating an individual’s identity for the purposes of access to public services. This programme of work is known as the Standard Authentication Framework Environment or SAFE for short.

Sections 241 and 247(C) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended, require a person, when requested, to verify his or her identity. This is done by attending for a SAFE registration which involves the capture of an individual’s photograph and signature, the verification of identity and current address as well as the capture of additional data such as answers to security questions to be used in ensuring the future integrity of customers’ data. A Public Services Card is then issued to each successful registrant.

Details of the registration process and information on the documents which a person should provide are available on the Department’s website at www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Public-Services-Card_holder.aspx.

Should a person fail or refuse to comply with the requirement to register, then the legislation provides for either the disallowance of the person’s claim, where it is a new claim, or the disqualification from payment, if it is an existing claim. The circumstances of persons are taken into account, related to their ability to attend and complete the registration process, before a payment is discontinued. Where a person is unable to attend for reasons of illness or frailty, my Department may be able to conduct the registration using a mobile registration facility.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.