Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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21. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his Department's work with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection in respect of the roll out of the public services card in 2017; the outstanding work to be completed with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection in relation to the project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2233/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Public Services Card (PSC), and its online counterpart MyGovID, is the Government’s standard personal identity verification scheme, and it is core to delivering valuable public services to the people who need them in a secure and efficient manner.  The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is the lead implementation body for the production of the Public Services Card, the MyGovID electronic identity service, and the registration process which underpins both via their network of Intreo offices.  My Department works closely with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection to govern the development of policy and manage the integration of the PSC and MyGovID into appropriate services provided by the Public Service.

During 2017, over 3 million Public Services Card issuances was reached, equating to approx. 72% of the adult population.  During the year, my Department and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection worked with a number of public bodies to integrate the PSC and MyGovID, improving access to and security of services.  Currently, the Public Services Card underpins access to social welfare entitlements, first time adult passport applications, citizenship applications, and driver theory test applications.  MyGovID can be used for online access to Revenue myAccount services, myWelfare services; and access to the Jobs Ireland service.  Also, in 2017, my Department has worked with other Departments to plan the adoption of the PSC and MyGovID, details of which were published in the eGovernment Strategy 2017 - 2020.

In January 2017, my Department launched a public communications campaign for the PSC and MyGovID.  The aim of this campaign is to promote the awareness of and rationale for the card and MyGovID.  Furthermore, the campaign informs people as to where they can get more information, which is delivered via the new psc.gov.ie website.  The communications campaign is running through the month of January.

Over the course of 2018, access to more public services will be underpinned by the PSC and MyGovID.  My Department along with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is engaging with the relevant Departments to assist with the transition of these services in line with the schedule set out in the eGovernment Strategy.