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IN 2011, THE Public Services Card (PSC) was introduced in the form of a pilot scheme for some social welfare recipients.
The idea was simple: Streamline the delivery of multiple services such as social welfare by confirming the user’s identity on a simple card.
But in recent years, it has become nothing but a headache for government. Criticism grew over the use of the card for more services than originally intended, sparking concerns it was quickly becoming a de-facto national ID card backed by a database of citizens’ biometric data, accessible by dozens of agencies.
It has come to a head after the Data Protection Commissioner ruled in a landmark investigation that there was no lawful basis for anyone to be required to get a PSC for anything other than social welfare payments and benefits.
So where did it go wrong with the card? Was this inevitable or could it have been avoided? And why exactly is it so controversial? Joining presenter Sinéad O’Carroll on The Explainer this week are TheJournal.ie’s reporter Sean Murray, who has been following the controversy closely, and solicitor Simon McGarr, director of Data Compliance Europe and a persistent campaigner for more clarity on the government’s use of the PSC as well as the associated data.
They explore the development of the PSC over the past decade, how the cracks started to appear in the scheme, and why the public should be mindful of how their data is being used.
The Explainer / SoundCloud
Find a full list of where the podcast is available here.
This episode was put together by presenter Sinéad O’Carroll, producer Aoife Barry, assistant producer and technical operator Nicky Ryan, and executive producer Christine Bohan. Design by Palash Somani.
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Cant really see the point in the card with the exception that it will cut out certain minority groups claiming social welfare under multiple names and addresses.
I’m all for it!!!
@Bull McCabe: don’t see a problem either.
@Bull McCabe: the cost of implementing this and the savings it will make are negligible. I see it as a waste of public plus poor people are not the problem in this country. Its the rich that wrecked the economy. So you not seeing an issue with that & being all for this card is why this country is on its knees.
@Mjhint: it wasnt negligible it was cost negative, it cost more to produce and issue than it saved, plus they new all along and still know its illegal, i cant remember its exact name but the company awarded the contract for the card was called biometric card services or the like but conveniently changed its name after the award, the whole thing has been another scandal waiting to happen
@Mjhint: The award was given to Biometric Card Services Ltd., who then changed their name to Security Card Concepts Ltd.
That said, the card does not contain biometric data, there is a photo stored on the card but its not encoded in biometric form.
“Does the Public Services Card store biometrics?
No. While the card does store a person’s photograph it does not store the biometric or arithmetic template of that photograph. Nor is the biometric or arithmetic template of the photo stored in the PSI dataset or shared with other public bodies.”
The Department of Social Protection stores a biometric version of the photo in their own secure datacentres, this data is not shared with other government departments.
It is used to prevent someone trying to register for a 2nd PSC card.
“Up to the end of September 2017 the Department had detected some 165 cases of suspected identity fraud as a result of this matching process.”
https://www.welfare.ie/en/downloads/DEASP_Comprehensive_Guide_to_SAFE_Registration_and_the_PSC.pdf
@David Jordan: is the card illegal. I’m not concerned about these so called savings as it has cost more to implement the card.
@David Jordan: The card is Biometric. Unless of course you want to believe the lies put out by Regina and her department. FG have lied about this card, what information it contains, what form it is in, how it is stored, why it is needed, who can access it, who it is shared with. Eu law on data protection states that no government dept or body can share your private and personal data with any other government dept or body without first giving you a legitimate reason why and seeking your express permission to do so.
The card is made by the same company that makes the Indian National ID card, the Aadhaar Card. This card was brought in by the Indian government for the same purpose FG brought the card in. Now the citizens of India are under the most draconian and intrusive surveillance, illegally, but like FG the Indian government couldn’t give a toss about legalities as long as the card fulfils their purpose.
@Mjhint: I agree 100% with you. I have no problem with the concept. The costing is typically government wastage and looking after friends. Sure look at the national children’s hospital. Nothing this government does can be done cost effectively.
@Bull McCabe: You don’t see a problem with this and the lies and denials about the biometric information held on the card?
The PSC offers significant protections against
welfare fraud as it represents a robust identity
registration process involved documentary
evidence, background database checks, faceto-face questioning, biometric capture and facial
image matching.
This is from the depts own report. The link posted by Commentator below.
The card and the data compiled under it should be destroyed.
@David Jordan: All lies.
@Dave Doyle: A photo is biometric data. There’s no other biometric data held on the card. The card just authenticates the user and links them to data that’s held on servers. If the card never existed, that data would still be there.
@Paraic: No point explaining to Dave. He doesn’t understand.
@Bull McCabe: Next ear tags for the sheeple lol.
The government are set to defy that the card is unlawful & that withholding information personal details was unlawful. That just shows the arrogance of Fine Gael constantly doing opposite of findings of reports covering up & basically nothing to see here . They are in the wrong but they don’t want to admit that fact .
This is what this Illegal PSC, this Biometric National ID Card by the back door is all about. And why it it a dangerous instrument in the hands of any government, never mind one that constantly lies about it and it’s purpose.
https://digitalfreedomfund.org/bartering-your-privacy-for-essential-services-irelands-public-services-card/#targetText=In%20Ireland%2C%20the%20government%20has,which%20they%20are%20legally%20entitled.
@Dave Doyle: read that David. Still not a single reason presented about what is wrong with a public ID Card. I work in various EU cities. I can’t see the problem. Help me an old man out here.
@Con Cunningham: Public ID card or National ID card?
I don’t have a link to the article I read but I remember seeing that 95% of welfare fraud is about circumstance lies, a tiny percentage of it is from identity fraud, if anyone has a link to a reputable site with a story on this I would appreciate it.
Wow imagine government having your name , address, pps number, date of birth, and picture That’s mad stuff altogether
@Eamonn O Connell: chip and pin, tracking, facial recognition….keep going. They’re hardly trustworthy.
@Laura Crowe: sush laura, you’re supposed to ignore those parts! And when you point it out you’ll be asked have you something to hide
@Laura Crowe: “facial recognition”
“Does the Public Services Card store biometrics?
No. While the card does store a person’s photograph it does not store the biometric or arithmetic template of that photograph. Nor is the biometric or arithmetic template of the photo stored in the PSI dataset or shared with other public bodies.”
@David Jordan: wrong again David. Face to face and biometric image matching in place for PSC since March 2013 as per their own report. Contract re-awarded in 2018.
@Laura Crowe: What are you talking about? Chip and pin? That’s nothing to do with the government . It is a security measure introduced to protect people, ordinary people like you and me.
@Commentator: Good interesting link you posted. It looks like the SW dept, the DEASP is doing everything it can to stop SW fraud. Not in itself a bad thing. But to use an illegal instrument to do so is a fraud being committed on Irish citizens. FG don’t seem to think that putting the same resources into preventing white collar crime is worthwhile, even though the savings to the state would count in Billions, not the mere millions saved on SW fraud. FG were ok with the banks defrauding their customers over a matter of years. Some people lost their homes, some committed suicide, many driven into bad health many driven into poverty over bank fraud. This card and it’s purpose shows that FG do actually despise the poor, the low paid, unemployed. They couldn’t care less about the crooks in suits. In fact they depend on one for to keep their majority in the Dail. Another benefits from very lucrative government contracts.
@Laura Crowe: so what. ?? whats on the chip and pin only the above information. Facial recognition isn’t a big deal either considering the phone that you’re now posting on has several photos stored on it of you and also stores your location on the maps app. It’s amusing to hear people commenting on having privacy issues on an open forum where anybody who has any clue about phones could find out more about you than ever will be on the card
@David Jordan: That passage you quoted is a down right lie.
@Dave Doyle: prove it.
I love the government explaination I read… “Mandatory but not Compulsory”. As they re-write our language to suit the occasion.
No, not another article about the PSC!
Between Insurance and the PSC, the bots are having a field day.
@Chin Feeyin: I’m sorry that stories about citizens natural born right to privacy is boring and/or upsetting to you, maybe you should avoid clicking in reading and commenting on stories like this in the future.
@Devilsavocado: There is no such thing as a ‘natural born right to privacy ‘
@Con Cunningham: EU law thinks there is. Any functioning democracy doesn’t need such an instrument to put it’s citizens under.
@Dave Doyle: @Dave Doyle: “EU law” is a noun. “It” doesn’t think. Beyond that, I can make neither head nor tail of your reply.
@Dave Doyle: This card has many benefits .
@Andrew Nolan: For who?
@Dave Doyle: plenty of benefits to the tax payers who are funding the fraud committed by the job shy layabouts.
I think it’s the government that needs the explainer, not us !
Interest ( or lack of) from the legal profession will show if this has legs. And if any up and coming legal eagle wants to use me, on a pro bono basis guaranteeing no costs against me, I’m in.
@John Strahan: I not on social welfare but was forced to get this card to renew my license. It took 3 weeks to sort this which meant I was off the road. Now that its clearly illegal I’m only looking for to take a case against the people that forced me to get it.
I hope the Government agencies didn’t share data illegally with European or transnational entities. Then there would be intentional illegality by our government.
You only have to look at citizens in Hong Kong wearing ski masks and umbrellas not because of weather conditions
It should not be required, compulsory or mandatory. But it did make my life infinitely easier when I went to renew my drivers license. I did not need proof of address or residency because the PSC had it all right there. It could really streamline public services but it must be done right.
have your say