Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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122. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the 18-week delay for appointments to get a Public Services Card in Newbridge; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26600/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Public Services Card (PSC) establishes and fully authenticates a person’s identity, assisting them in accessing a range of public services in an easy and safe manner.

It is the case that some offices in my Department, including the Newbridge Intreo Centre are experiencing high levels of demand for PSC appointments.  Additional staff have been assigned to increase capacity in offices in respect of these appointments.

The approximate wait time for PSC appointments in the Newbridge Intreo Centre is currently 11 weeks and additional staff have been allocated to significantly reduce this waiting time.  The reason for each application is considered and where a request is deemed to be urgent the application is prioritised.

On average there are 180-190 appointments scheduled each week in the Newbridge Intreo Centre.  However, approximately 25% of customers fail to attend their scheduled appointment.  For example, in May up to 20/05/2022, 591 appointments were scheduled and customers notified of their appointment but only 446 customers attended.   

It may be helpful to note that my Department has an online service which allows customers to renew their PSC for 10 years through www.MyWelfare.ie.  A verified MyGovID account is required to use this service, and a passport quality photograph must be uploaded with the renewal application.  An expired card can be extended for three years by calling the Department’s PSC Helpdesk at 0818 837000.  Where a PSC is lost, stolen or damaged, a person should immediately contact the PSC Helpdesk where officials will arrange for a new card to issue.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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123. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to allow applications for a Public Services Card to be made online; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26601/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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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).  Currently, it is not possible for someone who does not already have a PSC to acquire one without attending an in-person appointment.

My Department is exploring the delivery of services to augment the current face-to-face identity proofing processes carried out by staff in Intreo and SAFE Centres nationwide by allowing customers to satisfactorily establish their identity online.

My Department has published a request for tenders (RFT) for an online document-centric identity proofing service to meet the Department’s SAFE standard.  A decision on the development of this service will be made following an examination of responses to this RFT.

My Department has also introduced a new online PSC renewal service which is available on MyWelfare.ie. 

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.