Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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675. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the position regarding the public services card in the context of persons that have undergone or are undergoing gender transitioning; the way in which the card complies with the Gender Recognition Act 2015, in order that all of a person's historical personal details are protected from being accessed by officials processing a transaction using the card, from officials in the process of issuing a card and other authorised bodies that can demand the card; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42811/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Public Services Card (PSC) has been introduced 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 currently issued following a registration process which involves the capture of an individual’s photograph and signature and the verification of identity data already held by the Department. This registration process is known as SAFE.

The PSC is designed to replace other cards within the public sector such as the free travel pass and the social services card of my Department and to make it easier for providers of public services to verify the identity of customers.

The following information is inscribed on the card: Forename, Surname, PPS Number, Photograph, Signature, Card issue number, and Expiry date. The following information is encoded on the chip: Forename, Surname, PPS Number, Date of birth, Sex, Mother’s birth surname, Place of birth, Birth surname, Nationality, Photograph, Signature, Card issue number, and Expiry date.

Applications for Gender Recognition Certificates are processed in a single area of the Department. Only a small number of specifically trained officers process these applications. Only these officers can access an individual’s historical data after a Gender Recognition Certificate has been issued. System checks are in place to ensure that no other officers in the Department can access this data.

The PSC contains the data held by the Department for an individual at the specific point in time at which the SAFE registration takes place. Where a person has obtained a Gender Recognition Certificate, the data on the Department’s systems visible to all officers, other than the very few mentioned previously, as well as the data on any PSC issued reflects the new status of that person and does not refer in any way to their previous status or the fact that they have been issued with a Gender Recognition Certificate.

As part of the process of issuing a Gender Recognition Certificate a person is advised that they may require a new PSC and is asked to contact the officer dealing with their application so that a new SAFE registration appointment may be made for them with a SAFE supervisor. This ensures that the registration is handled with the required sensitivity.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.