I presume the Deputy is referring to the provisions of Part IV, sections 14 and 15 of the Social Welfare Bill, 1998, which were considered by the Select Committee on Family, Community and Social Affairs on 4 March last. These provisions provide a legislative framework for the development of a more integrated approach to the administration, delivery, management and control of publicly funded services.
The lack of integration between various State services has been a matter of concern for some time and there have been many calls from Members of the House and various commentators for better integration and streamlining of services. It is generally recognised that this can lead to greatly improved customer service and better control of schemes and services. My Department's modernisation programme has been under way for a many years. A key to this programme is the greater integration of services through the use of information technology and closer co-operation with various service organisations.
The report of the interdepartmental group on the development of the ISSS in August 1996 made a number of recommendations following detailed consideration of the various issues involved including data protection issues. The proposals in this year's Social Welfare Bill build on this and on the work that has been going on in my Department in recent years. The Department has links with a number of other agencies and has developed a computerised system for recording means assessments and, along with the health boards, accounts for almost half of the means assessments carried out each year. The Department is responsible for the allocation of the revenue and social insurance numbers and for the issue of the current social services card, of which there are more than 1.6 million in circulation. These cards, which are a convenient modern record of a person's RSI number, contain limited information and are used at local departmental offices and facilitate payments at post offices.
The introduction of a public service card will, over time, replace the social services cards and will enable the public service number to be used as a single identifier for public administration purposes. This is a reasonable extension of the system currently in place. The public service card is not a general identity card and is not intended as such. Indeed, the Bill provides that it will be an offence for an unauthorised person to use the card or to seek to have it produced.
At this stage I am satisfied that the proposals in the Bill, including that in relation to the public service card, have been subject to a full and constructive debate of the issues involved. For the reasons I have given, it is appropriate that these measures should form part of the Social Welfare Bill. I am satisfied that appropriate safeguards have been incorporated and when the proposals are fully implemented, which will take time, there will be a better overall service to customers and better value to the taxpayers.
