Written answers

Tuesday, 17 December 2019

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Social Welfare Fraud

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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682. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the specification of the facial matching technology her Department uses to detect potential fraud; the make and or brand and model of the camera used; the name of the software used in conjunction with the cameras; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52736/19]

Photo of Regina DohertyRegina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The facial image matching software used by my Department is supplied by Thales Ltd. This software facilitates facial image verification and comparison by my Department.

To facilitate the SAFE registration and for Public Service Card (PSC) production processes, the Department uses software (Daon Capture/Cognitec Face VACS) to support the capture of a facial image using a webcam/camera and to accept images from scanned photographs. 

When a person presents at one of my Department's 106 SAFE registration locations, their photograph is taken by Logitech WebCams (C525, C920 and Pro 9000). 

This photograph (in JPEG format) is inputted into and stored in the facial image matching software. It is then searched against the Department’s photo database to ensure that the person in that photograph has not already been registered using a different Personal Public Service Number or a different identity dataset.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

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