Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 April 2022
209. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Transport the reason persons are being asked to submit a public services card when applying online for a driving licence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17848/22]
View answerTo apply for or renew your driving licence you are required to provide photographic ID and evidence of your PPSN, address and residency entitlement. When an applicant applies in person at a National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) office, the required documents can be examined and a face to face verification can be made.
When applying online, the same information is required, but verifying a person’s identity is more difficult. Accordingly, a verified MyGovID account, which requires a Public Service Card (PSC), is used to confirm a person’s identity and image in place of a face-to-face verification.
Legal proceedings, in which the Department of Social Protection appealed an enforcement notice from the Data Protection Commission on processing of personal data for PSCs, were resolved in December 2021.
The agreement reached acknowledges that other public bodies listed in social welfare legislation (“specified bodies”) may use the PSC as a means of verifying the identity of the people they deal with, provided that they also accept other methods of authenticating identity. The NDLS accepts other methods, such as a passport. Details can be found on the NDLS website www.ndls.ie
The agreement also accepted that the Department of Social Protection and other specified bodies can continue to use MyGovID as the sole means of authenticating identity for accessing online services, provided that an alternative service channel is available. The NDLS offices provide this alternative channel.
The Road Safety Authority is a specified body for the use of a PSC under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (as amended by the Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2009).
