Written answers

Tuesday, 7 November 2017

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Public Services Card

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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1184. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a new rule has been issued which requires persons designated by pensioners to collect pensions from post offices to produce a public services card as identification; the basis for this requirement; the reason personal data from the card is entered into An Post computers; the use to which the data is put; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45774/17]

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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1225. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her Department has obliged An Post to request the public services card from welfare recipients when collecting payments; if her Department obliges An Post to request the production of identification from welfare recipients when collecting payments; if so, the identification documents which are accepted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46234/17]

Photo of Regina DohertyRegina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1184 and 1225 together.

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection operates its contract for cash payment services with An Post. The Department and An Post agreed a protocol in 2014 governing the forms of identification which claimants, or their agents, must produce in order to collect payments. There has been no change in this agreed protocol or in the forms of identification required of claimants to collect their social welfare payments.

Social welfare claimants must present one of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection payment cards when collecting payments. These cards are; the Public Services Card, the Social Services Card and the Temporary Payment Card.

The Public Services Card, or PSC, is an identity token, issued by the Department, following a face to face registration process which involves the capture of an individual’s photograph and signature plus the verification of identity data already held by the Department. No other identification is required of clients when a PSC is presented.

The Social Services Card, or SSC, is a payment token, used to collect DSP payments. The token is issued to claimants who have not yet been registered for and received a PSC. If presenting for payment with an SSC, a person must also provide additional identification. Ideally this should photographic. Acceptable forms of photographic ID are:

- Current Passport (For Irish and UK passport holders, a passport which has expired within the previous 12 months is acceptable)

- Current (in date) National ID card for EU citizens other than Ireland or UK

- Current (in date) Irish or UK Drivers Licence or Irish Driver Learner Permit

- Current (in date) Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) Card

- Emergency Photo ID produced by the Department.

If a claimant holds an SSC but does not have appropriate photographic ID then the following documents are acceptable:

- Medical Card and Proof of Address

- Bank Card and Proof of Address

- Recent work ID and Proof of Address

- Recent communication from Public Service body or Local Authority and Proof of Address

If a customer holds an SSC but is unable to present either acceptable Photo ID or alternative ID, An Post may make payment based on the personal validation of the Post Office staff on the basis that the customer is known to them by sight and name.

Finally the Temporary Payment Card is a paper document issued by the Department for short-term use by a claimant pending receipt of a PSC or SSC. A temporary payment card is valid for a specific period. An Post may not accept the Temporary Payment Card without the additional forms of identification listed above for the SSC.

In addition to the identity requirements for claimants collecting in person, post offices are obliged to apply the following controls in respect of payments collected by authorised agents. These agents are of two types; temporary and permanent.

Payment should only be made to a temporary agent on presentation of the following:

- A Temporary Agent form (TA1) signed by the claimant authorising the agent to collect their payments.

- The claimant’s PSC, SSC or Temporary Card

- The Agent’s own photo ID. Acceptable forms of photo ID are the same as set out for SSC card.

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection also obliges An Post to further validate the identity of the person presenting for payment by carrying out a PPSN or date of birth check against the payment data on the post office counter screen. The post office teller is also required to record the date and time of the transaction, the post office reference number, the customer details contained in the payment record, the payment scheme and amount plus the type of identification presented.

This data is necessary for the reconciliation of the An Post cashed payment records against the Department’s issued payment records. It is also essential in order to investigate cases of suspected fraud.

An Post have recently begun the roll out of an automated system to allow tellers to more easily record this data. While it might appear to the person across the counter that new data is being collected, in fact it is simply a more automated method to record the same payment transaction details that have been captured by post office tellers since the commencement of the current contract in 2014. Such procedures are vital in safeguarding public funds against misleading claims for payment and in successfully reconciling the approximately 35 million payments made at post office annually.

Photo of Jonathan O'BrienJonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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1185. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the process for persons to receive a copy of information encoded on their public services card. [45783/17]

Photo of Regina DohertyRegina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Section 263(2) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, as amended, provides that “A person may, on request in that behalf to the Minister, obtain within 28 days of that request, where practicable, information which is electronically encoded on his or her Public Services Card”.

Such a request should be sent to:

Card Management Section,

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection,

Shannon Lodge,

Carrick-on-Shannon,

Co. Leitrim

N41 KD81

The identity of the person making the request must be verified before data will be provided. The data may be provided either electronically or in paper format as preferred by the person requesting the data.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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