Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 November 2014
97. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection to set out the actions she will take to protect the use of PPS numbers against abuse; if she will consider new legislation to increase the offences relating to the wrongful use of a person's PPS number; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41717/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis question focuses on the decision of the Government a little over 12 months ago to ram through the House the legislation to establish Irish Water, wherein provision was made for the collection of individuals' personal public service, PPS, numbers. The Government is in regret and apology mode. Against this background, we want to know what the Tánaiste is prepared to do about the growing public concern around the issue of the collection of PPS numbers and their potential abuse thereafter.
Social welfare legislation specifies that the PPS number can only be used by specified bodies and agents acting on their behalf and only for the purposes of public service transactions. Provision is also made for sharing a person's PPS number between specified bodies.
The PPS number is a unique identifier. It was introduced in 1998 and is used to provide access to an important range of public, civic and other services. It replaced the old revenue and social insurance, RSI, number, which had been introduced in 1979 for engagements between individuals and Revenue or the then Department of Social Welfare. The introduction of the PPS number made it accessible by specified bodies, rather than only by Revenue and the Department, in transacting public services.
At its core, the PPS number is a device to assist in and enhance the efficiency of the provision of public services for the public. Such public services vary greatly. Thus, the PPS number is used widely, for example, by all employers in their transactions with Revenue and the Department in the delivery of social welfare payments and services, including dental, optical and audiological services, mainly provided by private practitioners, as well as financial institutions and the health and education sectors.
It is an offence for persons other than specified bodies, their agents or those to whom the number refers to use PPS numbers or otherwise seek their disclosure. A person convicted of such an offence is liable to a fine not in excess of €1,500, or, on conviction, a fine not exceeding €25,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both.
The Department is committed to protecting and facilitating the use of PPS numbers in accordance with the law. In this regard, it monitors compliance with the legislation among the specified bodies and deals with identified and reported cases. The collection, storage and use of PPS numbers are subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Acts.
What the Tánaiste has said is very interesting, especially against the background of the information divulged by my colleague, Deputy Willie O'Dea, who has accessed the Department's staff bulletin board. Some entries indicate that staff within the Department have expressed serious concerns about the use of PPS numbers. They expressed doubt about the legal basis of Irish Water checking numbers. They were uneasy about the conflict with their duty to protect members of the public. Staff also expressed concern about the lack of information on the issue. Some staff have gone as far as to say they would be reluctant to provide their PPS numbers in such circumstances.
The Minister has come here and expressed satisfaction. Are we to take it that, although the Minister and the chief executive of Irish Water have apologised and the Taoiseach has said that not everything that should have been done was done and the entire matter has not been handled very well, the Minister is perfectly happy with the manner in which the PPS issue has been handled in the Irish Water debacle?
My view with regard to Irish Water, and I said this a number of weeks ago and before other people commented, is that the undertaking is of such a significant size that it will take a considerable number of years to roll out. I said that in the Dáil more than a couple of weeks ago. That is the first point.
Second, PPS numbers are already used in communications with utility companies and An Post as unique identifiers, for example, for household benefits customers. Financial institutions are required to use PPS numbers under the legislation of 2008. I am sure the Deputy is familiar with that. The PPS number is used to access a wide variety of services, such as social welfare services, free travel, pupil identification in the context of education, public health services, including the medical card and drug payment schemes, optical, dental and audiology benefits which may be provided to people by practitioners, child immunisation, all the Revenue Commissioners' schemes, housing grants, driver theory testing, driver licences, school transport schemes operated by the Department of Education and Skills, passport applications and passport renewals, and civil registration services including birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certification. All of this is regulated both by the legislation under which it falls and under the remit of the Data Protection Acts.
The litany of instances the Minister outlined in which PPS numbers are provided are instances where the public is quite happy to provide PPS numbers. However, there were people among the 150,000 or 190,000, whatever number one accepts, who marched last weekend throughout the country simply and solely because of their concern about the issue of PPS numbers. Certainly, I have had the experience, and I will be amazed if the Minister's colleagues have not had the same experience, of people telling me that one of their principal concerns about this utility company is that they do not wish to provide their PPS number to it, that they will not do it and they are unwilling to participate in that way. Is the Minister saying that those people's concerns are misplaced? Is she also saying that the apologies that have been tendered do not include apologies in respect of the demand for PPS numbers?
The PPS number has been in existence for a long time. It is one of the factors that enables much better delivery of public services among the wide range of services I mentioned earlier. It is governed by extremely tight data protection regulations and it is a criminal offence to misuse PPS numbers. I appreciate the concerns people have expressed on this issue but in the case of Irish Water it is in order to provide access to allowances. One of the concerns that have been mentioned has been in respect of children's PPS numbers. However, there are only two items of information that could be sought by Irish Water in that respect or only two questions that can be asked. One is whether it is a real and valid PPS number.
The second question is whether the person to whom the PPS number is assigned is aged under 18 years. Apart from answering these two questions and contrary to what people appear to believe, no other data exchange is involved. The data are confined.
