Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 November 2021
129. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will clarify the payments administered by her Department which can be accessed without having a public services card; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58025/21]
View answerSocial welfare legislation (Section 241 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended) provides that it shall be a condition of any person’s right to benefit that they, inter alia, satisfy the Minister as to their identity.
The SAFE registration process is the process through which a person satisfies the Minister as to their identity. Once their identity is verified in this way, they are issued with a Public Services Card which can be used as proof of their identity when dealing with public service bodies.
A full list of the payments included in the definition of benefit for this purpose is set out below at the end of this response.
In respect of other transactions with my Department, a person must also satisfy the Minister as to their identity:-
1. Before they can be allocated and issued a PPSN;
2. Before they can be issued a Public Services Card;
3. To continue to receive a benefit listed below, once they have been requested to satisfy the Minister as to their identity.
The definition of benefit for the purpose of section 241 includes any benefit described in section 39(1), any assistance described in section 139(1), along with certain other payments specified in section 240.Section 39(1) payments:-
- Adoptive benefit
- Bereavement grant
- Carer’s benefit
- Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment
- Guardian’s payment (contributory)
- Health and safety benefit
- Illness benefit
- Invalidity pension
- Jobseeker’s benefit
- Jobseeker’s benefit (self-employed)
- Maternity benefit
- Occupational injuries benefit comprising injury benefit, disablement benefit and death benefit
- Parent’s benefit
- Partial capacity benefit
- Paternity benefit
- State pension (contributory)
- State pension (transition)
- Widow’s (contributory) pension, widower’s (contributory) pension and surviving civil partner’s (contributory) pension
- Widowed or surviving civil partner grant (paid by virtue of receipt of a benefit under Part 2 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended)
Section 139(1) payments:-
- Blind pension
- Carer’s allowance
- Disability allowance
- Domiciliary care allowance
- Farm assist
- Guardian’s payment (non-contributory)
- Jobseeker’s allowance
- One-parent family payment
- Pre-retirement allowance
- State pension (non-contributory)
- Supplementary welfare allowance
- Widow’s (non-contributory) pension, widower’s (non-contributory) pension and surviving civil partner’s (non-contributory) pension
- Widowed or surviving civil partner grant (paid by virtue of one-parent family payment or State pension (non-contributory) under Part 3 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, as amended)
Other payments specified in section 240:-
- Back to work family dividend
- Carer’s support grant
- Child benefit
- Continued payment for qualified children
- EU payments within the meaning of Part 8 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended
- The cost of medical care under section 86 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended
- Working family payment
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
