Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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651. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when appointments for the public services card will be reinstated; and the mitigation measures put in place by her Department to enable persons without a card to apply for free travel and other social welfare entitlement which require a card. [21110/20]

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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703. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when appointments for public services cards will resume; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21858/20]

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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732. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when scheduling for appointments for the public services card will commence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22145/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 651, 703 and 732 together.

The SAFE registration process, which my Department uses to authenticate a person's identity, is a face- to-face process which results in the issuing of a Public Services Card (PSC).

At the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, my Department temporarily postponed the SAFE registration process. This decision was taken to comply with HSE and WHO guidelines in respect of social distancing.

I am happy to confirm that the SAFE registration service has now resumed in most Intreo Centres and Branch Offices. This is being done in line with all relevant guidelines to ensure the health and safety of the Department's customers and staff, and I expect that the service will be fully resumed nationwide over the coming weeks.

To help manage social distancing in its offices, my Department has suspended the online appointments system for SAFE registration appointments. Any person wishing to book an appointment should contact their local Intreo Centre and they will be assigned one.

My Department is also contacting people who are entitled to Free Travel and who have not yet received their Free Travel PSC, inviting them to contact their local Intreo Centre or Branch Office, to arrange their SAFE registration.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputies.