Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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827. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the section of legislation that allows the National Driver Licensing Service to make public services cards compulsory for persons seeking a new driver licence; the exact wording that makes this possible; and if neither are available, his views on State bodies setting mandatory requirements that are not underpinned by existing law. [11972/18]

Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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832. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on the requirement for a person to produce a public services card to access services offered by the National Driver Licensing Service; the specific legal basis that the NDLS is using to make the card compulsory to access services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12004/18]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 827 and 832 together.

Under section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1961, I as Minister am empowered to prescribe in regulations the form and manner of an application for a driving licence, and the documents which must accompany an application.

The revision of the driver licensing application process to allow for the inclusion of the Public Services Card (PSC) as evidence of identity verification and authentication will be provided for in regulations, which are currently being drafted.

The use of the PSC to confirm identity authentication to the SAFE2 standard across a growing range of public services will be beneficial for both citizens and the State, by allowing people to verify their ID once for the PSC, rather than having to provide a range of documentation to prove their identity each time they apply for different public services.