Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 May 2022
298. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason that applicants for passports and driving licences are still being asked to produce a public services card for the processing of same though no social-protection function applies in the matter of either; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21774/22]
View answerSince its inception in the late 1990s, the Public Services Card (PSC) has always been intended as a physical token of identity to be used in transactions between the citizens and the State, not just between citizens and my Department.
One of my functions as Minister for Social Protection is the authentication of the identity, as set out in the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005.
Once a person has successfully authenticated their identity in one of my offices, they are issued with a PSC which can be used as proof of identity when transacting with certain public bodies (“specified bodies”) listed in that Act. The list of specified bodies includes the Department of Foreign Affairs and Road Safety Authority, responsible for the issuing of passports and driving licences, respectively.
This fact was recognised and acknowledged by the Data Protection Commission (DPC) in the Agreement of December last which settled my Department’s appeal of an Enforcement Notice issued by the DPC.
The DPC acknowledged in that Agreement that any specified body may use the PSC as a means of verifying the identity of the people they deal with, provided that they also accept other proofs of identity.
The question of whether a specified body seeks production of a PSC as proof of identity is a matter for those bodies.
