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THE ROAD SAFETY AUTHORITY came under intense pressure from civil servants to make the Public Services Card a mandatory prerequisite regarding applications for driving licences, and had spent €2 million on that project before the plug was unceremoniously pulled by Transport Minister Shane Ross over concerns that using the card in such a manner would be illegal.
It has emerged that the RSA officially announced its intention to make having a PSC a mandatory requirement for obtaining a driving licence in February of this year (with a deadline of 9 April), despite the fact its executive had grave concerns over the authority’s ability to deliver that service adequately.
It is now also clear that senior RSA officials repeatedly questioned the Department of Transport, the authority’s parent body and the main driver behind the project, as to whether or not using the card as the only means to obtain a licence would in fact be legal, and were reassured that was indeed the case by the most senior civil servant in the department.
Regardless, just under two weeks after the RSA first announced the migration, on 9 March 2018, the authority was instructed by the Minister for Transport Shane Ross not to continue with its plans due to uncertainty concerning the project’s legality.
All told the RSA spent roughly €2 million on the attempted migration, including on the heaviest application of radio advertisements in the authority’s history – a campaign designed to have the new process of applying for a licence heard by 85% of the nation’s population at least 10 times by the time it concluded its three-week run.
Freedom of Information
The legal basis for the Public Services Card (PSC) has been the subject of persistent, intense speculation ever since it was announced that the government would seek to expand the card’s remit from welfare services alone to other State functions such as driving licences in May 2017.
RSA correspondence released to TheJournal.ie under freedom of information shows that the authority came under sustained pressure from Transport to meet two deadlines at the time the PSC/driving licence project first became public knowledge on 19 February – to have it mandatory that a PSC be required for those applying for a driving licence by 9 April, and that an online renewal option be made available to those renewing a licence via MyGovID (the state’s online equivalent of the PSC).
From 26 February onwards, the RSA’s concerns regarding the task it had been set were made clear. On that date, its board was briefed as to issues surrounding the migration, with the matter said to be at “the highest risk rating”. In fact, as early as 26 January, RSA CEO Moyagh Murdock had expressed “genuine concerns” to Transport “that the process by which a licence customer either acquires a PSC or registers the PSC with MyGovID is not as intuitive or as straightforward as it should be”.
The main issues concerning the authority at that time were the fact that just 49% of people due to renew their licence in the following six months actually had a PSC, while just 3% of those holding PSCs further registered (an online process whereby an individual verifies their address) for MyGovID.
Given the sometimes protracted nature of the PSC application process, which could last anything from days to weeks, the authority was worried it would not be able to cope with urgent demand for licences (given someone would have to hold a PSC first), a concern that it raised many times with the department.
All told, the National Driving Licence Service (NDLS) processed over 600,000 applications for licences last year.
Legal basis
The released documents reveal that concerns regarding the PSC’s legal standing were expressed by the RSA as far back as March of 2017, when it was assured by Transport that it was government policy that the PSC become the mandatory precondition for applying for a new licence or a renewal.
On foot of those concerns, the secretary general at the Department of Transport Graham Doyle wrote to Murdock on 12 October 2017 to assure her that, so far as Transport was concerned, the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 was sufficient legal basis for the sharing of citizens’ data between the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP, the department primarily responsible for the PSC) and the RSA, and therefore that it would be fully lawful to proceed with the plan to expand the card to driver licensing services.
On 9 March 2018, Minister for Transport Shane Ross dropped the bombshell on Murdock, via his officials, that the plan could not proceed as projected due to the fact specific legislation would have to be drafted in order for it to do so, a position taken following consultation with the office of the Attorney General. It’s not clear what exactly prompted Ross to make this decision. However, the question as to the legal basis for the card being used in such a manner had been put to the RSA repeatedly by advocacy group Digital Rights Ireland in the aftermath of the 19 February announcement.
The shock news was delivered to Murdock a half hour after she had demanded of Transport to know what was going on with the project, given the RSA was at “a point of no return” regarding its commitment to the migration.
“I have also been advised (verbally) by the AGO (Attorney General’s Office) that you should give consideration to ‘pulling’ your recently launched advertisement campaign re the use of the card and that delivery of the required legislation to permit online applications by 30 April is now seriously in doubt,” a Transport official responded.
The sheer suddenness of what happened here is demonstrated by the fact that a mere three hours earlier an RSA official had drafted a set of regulations, to be actioned by Ross, to give effect to the new licence application process.
Transport officials subsequently made it clear to the RSA that as far as the department was concerned, in reducing the PSC from being a mandatory requirement to merely an optional one, the need to pass such regulations could be averted.
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9 March 2018 was certainly a headline date in this particular debacle – later still that day, in the wake of the news emanating from Ross’s office, the RSA drafted an internal memo to sum up all that would need to be done as a result of the minister having pulled the plug.
“Formal response needed from DTTAS (the Department of Transport, Tourism, and Sport),” that note reads. “Clarity on whether legality of MyGovID, data sharing with DEASP, ability to require PSC in NDLS are all in doubt.”
Digital campaign to be paused, radio campaign to be paused, all banners and popups to be pulled.
The memo also mentions that “costs (may be) incurred on comms (communications) that are now sunk”. In the end, the news that the PSC migration would not be happening was not made public until nearly three weeks later, on 27 March.
Under pressure
The amount of pressure placed on the RSA to meet the go-live deadline of April 2018 regarding the PSC project is outlined time and again in the released documents.
Consistently, the authority is informed that the government’s 2017 egovernment strategy, and a government decision dating from September 2013, are the reasons why it was being compelled to adapt the PSC.
In the aftermath of Ross’s unexpected decision to halt the project, frazzled RSA officials reached out to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER), the body responsible for the overall PSC expansion from its DEASP origins, in an attempt to find the clarity that Transport had yet to provide.
This move was not met with approval by Transport. “We are significantly surprised and disappointed that a direct approach has been made to DPER in this matter by the RSA, without any discussion regarding such intentions with this department beforehand,” an official told Murdock on 13 March.
In response to this, Murdock responded that, as early as April 2016, a Transport official had made clear to her that as far as reforming the licence application system went, “the PSC was the only show in town”. As the days passed in March 2018, the RSA CEO continued to remind DTTAS of its historical insistence that the RSA had to get on board with the PSC.
Indeed, the emphasis placed on the need to use the PSC in as wide-ranging a manner as possible was repeatedly stressed to the RSA by the department. In February 2017, the same Transport official who had described the PSC as the only show in town had warned the RSA “that moving to SAFE (Standard Authentication Framework Environment – the PSC’s government-mandated identification standard) for RSA services was imperative or otherwise there was a need to show why this was not feasible”.
“He said this is government policy and that he is under pressure both internally in DTTAS and in broader civil service areas to get traction on SAFE implementation,” a memo from that time, highlighted by Murdock, reads.
He implied that the reputation of the RSA was suffering (in public service circles) because we have not SAFE in place as regards the driver licensing service.
The indication is firmly given that PSC compliance would be something the RSA would have to deal with, whether it wished to do so or not.
Such indications are in stark contrast to a letter sent to Murdock on 22 March 2018 by secretary general Doyle, in which he stressed: “I would draw your attention to what is said in the egovernment strategy. It provides that online services should be the ‘preferred option’ in delivery of State services, but does not state that this is the only option.”
This letter came in response to one written by Murdock on 14 March, the same day it was confirmed for her (though still not officially) that Ross’s decision “to change the policy” regarding the PSC was a final one.
In Murdock’s letter, she pointed out that Doyle himself had written to chairperson of the RSA Liz O’Donnell in March 2017 reprimanding the authority for its perceived slowness in actioning the PSC project.
She said that “a new communications campaign for the public reversing the advice already issued” would have to be prepared, and stated that “the reputation of and public confidence in the RSA will be damaged”.
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Replying to Murdock’s assertion that the Comptroller and Auditor General would “have to be informed” due to the RSA having “invested considerable funds (circa €2 million) in IT and communications, some of which we will now have to write off”, Doyle said:
“This is no more than the standard requirements for any such spending under public financial procedures.”
FAQs
On 26 March, the day before the climbdown regarding the PSC became official, the RSA drafted a series of frequently asked questions for its officials in order to deal with queries regarding the issue.
From that list, it seems clear the authority was well aware that the optics of forging ahead with a high-profile campaign while that project stood on shaky ground legally were less than stellar.
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“The RSA does not have certainty that the necessary legal backing is in place to make it a requirement for those applying for a driving licence,” one answer reads.
“How could you press ahead with this project if the necessary legal backing was not in place?” reads another question.
“These work streams are sometimes progressed against different timelines given various priorities,” is the recommended answer to that query.
Other questions included:
“This is a matter for the department,” is the answer to that last question.
One final query was drafted, one for which no firm answer appeared to be in place.
“How much money has the RSA wasted on this project?” it read.
A more important question may be why was that money wasted. Whether or not the Department of Transport has an adequate answer to that query is another matter.
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This problem starts at the top. It’s a common occurrence to see a professional footballer screaming obscenities at referees. Even now with VAR making decisions. Until that starts being punished, kids will do the same.
@Rocky: Yep, and managers attacking them on sky sports after games. The ref has always been seen as the villain in football. Monkey see; monkey do.
@Rocky: There’s a rule that diving is a yellow card offence. Rarely used. Looking for an opposing player to be booked is a bookable offence. Never used. So no point being in new rules when refs won’t use the ones that are in. And I’m in agreement with you. It does start with the professionals. If a player seems Neymare rolling around at the slightest tip then there going to do it. And Pundits and managers are equally to blame.
@Rocky: nail on the head. Same to some extent with GAA. Then on a rugby pitch you’ve the opposite. No surprise the kids playing each sport (and their parents/coaches) follow suit with what they see on the TV.
@Pseud O’Nym: it happens in rugby too, especially at underage.
@Pseud O’Nym: Yeah. Shame rugby players didn’t behave a bit better when they’re not playing the game.
@Vonvonic: what are talking about, Soccer & GAA are 10 time worse than rugby players, bad eggs in every walk of life can’t just single out one discipline
Any team’s or their supporters who abuse a referee should be blacklisted for future games until they get their house in order.
I’ve never understood why the ref’s in football are so weak and nor hand out yellows followed by reds for any player hurling abuse. It would only take a weekend in the likes of the “Premiership” before teams copped on. And now that all the ref’s have a mic, they should follow the rugby and have it televised, no hiding when everyone at home can hear the foul language.
Who would be a ref. Even when there right there wrong. Take GAA for example. Most players sent off in semi finals have there red card overturned no matter what they dis to receive the red. If a ref sends off a player too early (again for no matter what) there seen yo have ruined the game. And then GAA wonder why they cant recruit refs.
@Cormac Flanagan: and then when a referee makes a decision, the GAA omertha kicks in and they never back then. E.g. James Owens, Conor Lane, hung out to dry by the authorities this year for their decision.
The standard in the Airtricity League is absolutely shocking!
@Ciaran McCann: here is an idea, you become a ref and we will see how you get on
Christ above. Soft world were living in these days.. put them to work in a call centre for 6 months first after that the abuse on a pitch will be a dream
@Diarmuid O Brien: such a pi#ss poor comment.
@Paul Gorry: As opposed to your wonderful input on this story, he’s not wrong either, Retail staff, call centre workers and Bar staff know all about getting abuse and I can tell you it’s a hell ooff lot worse than referees get.
Some of the refereeing mistakes seen, you wouldn’t see in an under 12s game, the problem is that they aren’t experienced enough to ref in big matches and they don’t have the technology to help them (Goaline technology, Video Ref, etc)
@Paul Gorry: lol..sorry your offended by such a light hearted comment..you should join the referees who claim to be abused too..counseling might be needed. Ill try to remember your feelings for future comments
@Adam J: how often do workers in those sectors face returning to their car after finishing to discover tyres slashed, windows smashed, cases where the individual is locked into their workplace (changing room), or even bundled into the boot of a vehicle, as a form of revenge for decisions made, cases of physical assault, or cases where your family is contacted and threats made against your family? For those who think I’m exaggerating, I spent 8 years as a soccer ref in the mid to late 90s in Dublin and either had these happen to myself, or to my colleagues.
As for the technology you mention, don’t see much of that in about 95% of matches played, particularly at schools level or the junior/intermediate leagues.
@Diarmuid O Brien: i mean they are being abused and they aren’t paid enough to take that kind of abuse. You should give it a try. Let’s see how long you would last
@Diarmuid O Brien: A call center? Jesus, have we got to the stage where call center work is considered tough? Bless.
Give them all cattle prods, you’ll see their tenure increase and abuse go in the opposite direction
Not like the old days when they left because they needed glasses…
A by-product of the culture of corruption within the FAI?
@Eddie O’Neill: Yep the FAI are responsible for dimwitted !mbeciles who think it’s acceptable direct vile abuse at another human being. Go back to sleep and stops fishing for likes with buzz words
@Phil Redmond: You’re missing my point. My point was that the governing body has not addressed this long running problem, they can issue bans/fines/sanctions to players, staff, fans for incidences of referee abuse. They have a large part to play in addressing this. If there is no consequences for these actions then you are always going to get the imbeciles, that you referred to, that are too stoopid to work out what is the correct way to deal with their base emotions.
@Eddie O’Neill: Fair enough but maybe next time say that. You’re original comment implies it’s the FAI’s fault it’s happening in the first place which obviously isn’t the case. This is a problem with the culture of football as a whole and it happens in plenty of countries not just here. Yes FAI could be doing more to fight it but so could everyone else. Clubs need to take action as well instead of waiting for the FAI to hold their hand. The refs at underage level as well get awful abuse especially from parents. Clubs need to clamp down on that. Ban little Johnny from playing football if daddy can’t keep his mouth shut and you’ll see a change in behaviour quick enough
Well if they keep putting up the wrong posts, well
At least they have a fall back plan, from what I can gather they’re all expert wank3rs
@Hugh Morris: very mature
@D. Memery: I didn’t come up with the phrase…
Because they’re shyte
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