Vol. 441 No. 8
15 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Social Welfare when he intends to introduce an encoded tax and social welfare card in view of the comments of the Minister of State at his Department in the Sunday Business Post of 7 November 1993, regarding its introduction; the data that will be stored on the card; the rights persons will have to access information stored on their own card; if the system will be voluntary; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
My Department introduced a new personal social services card in 1992. This card is a plastic card with an encoded magnetic stripe. Over 400,000 people have already received their personal social services cards. The social services card replaces the registration cards issued to people entering the social welfare system. Those cards have been in use for a great many years. The card will also in time replace the "signing card" currently in use at local offices of my Department. The new social services card is part of my strategy of modernising the administration of social welfare services and providing better services for customers.
The social services card is designed to full banking standards and is being used to provide speedier access to unemployment payments at post offices where the counter services have been modernised.
It is also sometimes used by people cashing sickness benefit cheques in banks and shops. Such incidental uses are an important indication of the need for a secure and durable card.
The person's RSI number, date of birth and sex are magnetically encoded on the card. Only the person's name and RSI number are actually visible on the front of the card. The card will facilitate easier and quicker access, not alone to social welfare services but also to Revenue services.
The Data Protection Act gives the individual the right to be supplied with details of any personal information on the social services card.
Use of the card has many advantages but what we are concerned about is access to the information which the card provides. In what way will access to a person's file be restricted? Who has access to it? Has the Minister checked to see if the Data Protection Act needs to be updated?
When an authorised person activates the monitor, a warning that the information is protected under the Data Protection Act appears on screen. That is built into all the systems and staff are very conscious of the need to protect the information. Similar controls apply where we would have an exchange of information with the Revenue Commissioners. Anything we do concerning the card is covered by the legislation which I brought before the House last year. If we wanted to extend it I would need to seek the approval of the House.
Were people given the card on a voluntary basis or were they automatically issued with one? Can they refuse to have their personal information encoded on such a card? Would the Minister consider having a five year cutoff period so that unnecessary information not required for the processing of a current claim would not be stored on the card?
The card is strictly a social services one and is made available to everyone for their voluntary use. People find it useful and convenient. It is not a universal identity system and is not intended as such. People may use it in different circumstances and that is a matter for themselves. The information is protected and would be covered in the legislation approved by the House. We have electronic fund transfers and people with a card can get the payments they need. Many of our offices are cashless and people can do business using their card if they wish. If the use of the card were to be extended the matter would have to be fully discussed in the House. It is a social services card to be used to avail of services.
When this was debated in the Social Welfare Bill, 1993 I and other Deputies had reservations about the matter. I referred to the Director of Computer Data who had serious reservations about the proposal.
That was the previous one. Proposals had been mentioned in the media prior to my appointment.
I read from the annual report of the Director in relation to identity cards. Have his reservations been met? Social welfare recipients are often dependent on the Department of Health also because health boards administer some social welfare payments. Will there be an interchange of information between the Departments? What limits will be put on the exchange of information?
The previous Data Protection Commissioner expressed concern about the national identity number card.
The social services card.
No. I introduced the concept of the social services card. At that time we were talking about an identity card. He said a White Paper should be published and legislation should be put in place. I brought in legislation which specified what I was doing and he was satisfied with that. His successor expressed no concerns about the matter. The real concern was on a wider basis when there was no legislation in place. I brought legislation before the House and if the Department of Social Welfare wants to go beyond what is provided for the matter must come back to the House for its approval.
Does the Department of Health have access to the information?
There are certain areas where we would have an exchange of information. If the systems were working in relation to household budgets we could offer that facility everywhere. Community welfare officers could feed into the system and it would be more efficient. We have reduced interim payments which in turn has reduced pressure on community welfare officers. They have more time to do the work they were appointed to do.
We are concerned about the privacy of the individual; that is the bottom line. While the facility of this card is important in so far as it goes, Deputies on this side of the House are concerned about the extent of the information recorded and the ability of an individual to check it. Will the Minister agree that a print out of the information stored on individuals who have cards should be issued to them once a year — or once every two years — so that they know precisely the information stored on them? These cards have tended to evolve as identity cards in other countries where they have been introduced. Because it is generally people in the lower income group who have these cards there is a tendency for certain elements in authority to misuse them. I am not suggesting that is the case in Ireland, but it has tended to happen in other countries. We need assurances——
The Deputy has dwelt rather long on this question.
——on how this matter can be dealt with effectively in legislation.
People have a right to the information; if they want it they can have it. This right is covered under the data protection legislation. On the question of abuse, we are certainly anxious to guard against any misuse of the cards and we would pursue any cases of misuse brought to our attention. At the outset there was pressure to provide the cards first to the unemployed, the people who could use them immediately and for whom they would be most convenient. I resisted this pressure and opted to make the cards available across the board as a general services card. We started with younger people, and more than 4,000 people now have cards. It is intended that everyone should have a card eventually. At present the cards give a person's RSI number, date of birth, which is encoded, their sex and name.
Are the people who receive cards informed that they are entitled to access to information?
They get a sheet of information with the card and although the print is small it contains all the details.
Will the Minister ensure that his desire for efficiency is counterbalanced by safeguarding the rights of the individual? I am surprised that this initiative has gone so far at this stage. In light of the fact that we cannot get information in the House about social welfare matters, the Minister should curtail any further development of this system until the freedom of information legislation has been passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas. People must have a right to the information on their public files.
There is no need to curtail developments in this area until legislation is introduced as people already have a right to the information if they want it.
Earlier I could not get information on other issues.
That was a different issue; the Deputy was referring to cases which are before the court.
Will the Minister issue cards to us?
The Deputy should not confuse such matters with a person's right to information. Our customers want an efficient system and they are delighted with the card system, which is progressing rapidly. I am very anxious, and I am sure the Deputies will be very watchful, to ensure that there is no abuse in the system and that people do not become over enthusiastic about what they can do with these cards. This is why I introduced the legislation last year, it was debated fully in the House at that stage and any further changes would also have to be debated in the House. The Deputies can be assured that we will adopt a balanced approach to this matter, and they will be part of this.
