Public services card set to be acceptable as form of ID

The public services card is used daily by millions of citizens — not just for receiving welfare payments, but also for services such as renewing driving licences and accessing the national childcare scheme. 

The State's public services card will soon be acceptable as a form of ID under new proposals to be discussed at Cabinet on Tuesday.

Social protection minister Dara Calleary will bring the Social Welfare and Other Matters Bill to ministers for approval. 

It covers a number of areas such as permitting the use of the public services card to be used by the cardholder, at their own discretion, as a form of identity. A Government source said this would be "useful for people who may not have a driving licence or passport".

The card is used daily by millions of citizens — not just for receiving welfare payments, but also for services such as renewing driving licences and accessing the national childcare scheme. 

In February, the Department of Social Protection said it was facing 24 separate legal actions connected to the use of biometric data in the card.

In an update for the Public Accounts Committee, the department said it was “aware of 24 outstanding circuit court cases brought by members of the public arising from the Public Service (sic) Card/retention of biometric data”.

A spokesperson for the department said at the time, however, the cases predate an adverse ruling from the Data Protection Commission last summer.

In that ruling, which was accompanied by a €550,000 fine, the commission said the card did use biometric data — which the department had denied — and such processing would have to be discontinued within nine months unless the State could find a valid legal basis for its use.

The bill also contains ⁠amendments aimed to improve the working of the appeals office, which provides an independent appeals service with regard to entitlement to social welfare payments as well as ⁠amendments to the Civil Registration Act for people affected by incorrect or illegal birth registration, and ⁠amendments to improve the functioning of the charities appeals tribunal. 

The function of the tribunal is to hear and adjudicate on appeals against certain decisions of the Charities Regulator.

There are also set to be a ⁠number of technical amendments to update outdated references in the Social Welfare Consolidation Act of 2005.

Also at Cabinet, foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee will update ministers on Ireland-Australia relations and implementation of EU-Australia trade deal. 

Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will update on urgent and emergency care from Easter weekend, and a memo on plans to expand bowel screening eligibility. 

Ms Carroll MacNeill routinely updates Cabinet on hospital numbers from bank holiday or long weekends.