Thomas Byrne
Question:56. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the steps she has taken to ensure the public services card is compliant with the law on data protection. [43553/19]
View answerWednesday, 23 October 2019
Questions (56)
Written answers
The Public Services Card (PSC) was provided for in legislation in 1998 when it was introduced alongside the PPS Number to replace the previous Revenue and Social Insurance number (RSI) and the Social Service Card (SSC). The PSC acts as an identifier for access to a broad range of public services.
In October 2017, the DPC commenced an investigation into the SAFE/PSC process and delivered its final report to the Department on 15th August this year. On 17th September, the Department published the report of the DPC together with a summary of its own response to the findings of the report.
On the basis of strong legal advice received from the Attorney General’s Office supported by external Senior Counsel, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe T.D. and I informed Government that we are satisfied that the processing of personal data related to the PSC does in fact have a strong legal basis, that the retention of data is lawful and that the information provided to users satisfies the requirements of transparency.
My Department is committed to ensuring that data relating to individuals is securely held and used only for relevant business purposes. The Department’s commitment to safeguarding data is reflected in its use of advanced data processing and storage technology hosted in secure, State-owned and State-operated data centres and is reinforced by a range of legislative and administrative provisions that are designed to protect the rights and interests of individuals.
Accordingly, I am satisfied that the PSC is compliant with data protection legislation.