Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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77. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the legal basis for withholding social welfare payments in circumstances in which a person entitled to such payments fails to register for a public services card; her views on whether the overall government policy in relation the public services card and SAFE level two registration limits the statutory discretion of power of her department in terms of withholding welfare payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46866/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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In 2005, the Government approved a rules-based standard for establishing and authenticating an individual’s identity for the purposes of access to public services. This standard is known as the Standard Authentication Framework environment – or SAFE. A person who successfully completes a SAFE 2 registration process (i.e. verifies their identity to a substantial level of assurance) may be issued with a Public Services Card (PSC). In the case of my Department’s own services, the legislation governing identity verification for existing claimants is set out in the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended, viz

- Section 247C(1) of the Act provides that the Minister may require any person receiving a benefit to satisfy the Minister as to his or her identity;

- Section 247C(2) of the Act specifies the consequences of failure to satisfy the Minister in relation to identity as required, specifically that a person shall be disqualified from receiving a benefit; and

- Section 247C(3) of the Act specifies the manner in which the Minister may be so satisfied; in effect, this Section describes the process for registering a person’s identity - this is the SAFE 2 Process.

This legislation requires a person to satisfy the Minister as to their identity and allows disqualification from receipt of a benefit in the event that it is not done. It is not possible for a person to satisfy the Minister as to his or her identity without being SAFE2 registered.

The decision to stop a payment is never made lightly. However, where a customer does not satisfy the Minister in relation to identity, in accordance with the legislative requirements, a payment can be disqualified. In advance of any such disqualification, the Department makes every effort to engage with the customer to explain the legislative basis for the SAFE2 registration process and the consequences of potential disqualification. Where a payment has been disqualified and the customer subsequently successfully completes the SAFE2 registration process, their payment will be reinstated by my Department (assuming they continue to meet all qualifying criteria for that payment) from the date of compliance.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.