Social Welfare Schemes
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-14
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Sharon Keogan (IND), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I thank the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I appreciate that he will engage with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on this.
We live in the land of technology. We are told that we are a tech nation and the idea that it would require an agreement and would be a little bit difficult to have this IT system put in place quickly seems a little bit ridiculous. It is something that can be overcome easily.
The reality on the ground is that a partnership should not require an older person to fill out an entire separate cross-Border application form, submit a passport photograph and wait for weeks just to get a separate piece of plastic. If the technology exists to recognise contactless bank cards instantly across Europe, our transport networks can absolutely recognise a single public service card across our one island. The current set-up is a bureaucratic hurdle, not a solution. A solution could be found to this quite easily and I hope the Minister will engage with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to find that. I thank the Minister for coming in today.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:52:15+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-14