The Public Services Card (PSC) is issued on completion of a robust registration process designed to ensure a substantial level of identity assurance. The PSC is intended to replace other cards within the public sector such as the free travel pass and the social services card of this Department and to make it easier for providers of public services to verify the identity of customers in person and online.
The legislation governing the issuance of a PSC is contained in the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended. Included in these provisions, Section 263B states:
“(1) For the purposes of satisfying himself or herself as to the identity of a person in respect of whom a personal public service number is to be allocated and issued under section 262, or in respect of whom a public services card is to be issued under section 263, the Minister may, without prejudice to any other method of authenticating the identity of that person, request that person
(a) to attend at an office of the Minister or such other place as the Minister may designate as appropriate,
(b) to provide to the Minister, at that office or other designated place, such information and to produce any document to the Minister as the Minister may reasonably require for the purposes of authenticating the identity of that person,
(c) to allow a photograph or other record of an image of that person to be taken, at that office or other designated place, in electronic form, for the purposes of the authentication, by the Minister, at any time, of the identity of that person, and
(d) to provide, at that office or other designated place, a sample of his or her signature in electronic form for the purposes of the authentication, by the Minister, at any time, of the identity of that person.”
Full details of the PSC, the associated registration process and the documentation requirements are provided on my Department’s website at http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Public-Services-Card_holder.aspx. The table below provides a listing of these different documentation requirements dependent on nationality.
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Identification Requirements
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Irish citizens born in the Republic of Ireland
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Current Irish passport or current Irish or UK driving licence or Irish learner driver permit. Adoption certificate in the case of adopted persons.
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Irish citizens via naturalisation or Foreign Birth Registration
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Current Irish passport or Certificate of Naturalisation or Foreign Birth Registration certificate and Irish or UK driving licence or Irish learner driver permit.
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Irish citizens born in Northern Ireland and UK citizens
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Current passport, or birth or adoption certificate and current driving licence
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EU citizens (other than Irish and UK)
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Current passport or national identity card
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Non-EU citizens
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Current passport or 1951 travel document
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For Irish citizens born in the Republic of Ireland, birth details can be verified online in most cases with the General Register Office. However, in some cases, it is not possible to locate the birth registration, so the person may need to return with a copy of his/her birth certificate.
The Department does not have access to the adoption register, so adopted people are asked to bring their adoption certificate with them when attending their appointment.
An Irish or UK citizen who does not have a Passport or Driving licence as identification may still be issued with a PSC. When that person attends they will have an in-depth interview and additional information gathered during this interview will be verified in order to confirm their identity.
It is important to remember that a person will only be issued a Public Services Card where there is a substantial level of assurance as to his or her identity.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
