Social Welfare, Civil Registration and Charities (Amendment) Bill 2026: Second Stage Dail Éireann — 2026-09-22 ============================================================ Louise O'Reilly (SF), Dublin Fingal West The Minister will know my views on this because we have had a discussion about it. For the purpose of putting them on the record, however, I cannot emphasise how foolish I believe it will be to allow this Bill to pass in its current form, owing to the provisions specifically in section 8, which seek to expand further the functions of the public services card, PSC. This is being done at a time when that very card and the legal underpinning are being called into question in court. The Minister will know that his colleague, the former Minister, Regina Doherty, famously said in 2018 that the PSC was "mandatory" but "not compulsory". We have been asking ourselves at the committee - the Minister might not say in this House, but he might have scratched his head and asked - what, in the name of God, does that actually mean? In her confused statement, I believe she gave away what the Government's intentions are, which is to keep expanding this card and its use and to make it into a de facto national ID card without the proper security features that any such card should have. Though the Government has consistently tried to row back on the former Minister, Regina Doherty's statements, insisting that the card is voluntary in practice, it risks becoming effectively mandatory because when a single ID card becomes widely accepted across the public and private sectors, people will feel a pressure to use it. This is a fact and there are multiple international examples of this. I scratch my head about this all the time. In the same breath as the Minister says that it is voluntary, I also know that the free travel pass cannot be accessed without it. That is not voluntary. A person can volunteer to not have the free travel pass. That is not fair. Most of these people have worked all their lives. People look forward to getting the free travel pass. Of course they do. Now they have to have the PSC. That is not fair nor voluntary. The only thing a person can volunteer to do is not get the travel pass to which they are entitled. I am concerned, as are others, that this centralised use could also weaken the security of the PSC. The Government has consistently dismissed the concerns in its response to the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, Digital Rights Ireland and my own contribution during pre-legislative scrutiny. National ID cards are tough and difficult to make. They should be, and for a reason. Biometric data is ever-more sensitive in our changing world and the absolute bare minimum provisions needed, I believe, are at least that the card be protected by an up-to-date, state-of-the-art security feature, so that a person may use a virtual PPSN rather than revealing their PPSN; that the public service identity dataset is not used in any way, shape or form for biometric matching; and that the PSC must allow cryptographic authentication. This is not the case with this card as it stands. I am baffled as to what the rush is. A legal case is under way. The Minister is well aware of that. It is entirely possible to wait for the outcome of that. If the Minister is so set on putting this card into use, he should wait until it has proper legislative underpinning. I believe the current underpinning is quite shaky. MyGovID and SAFE Registration still do not have a proper statutory basis. I am conscious that there is a lot more in this legislation than just the public services card but it is the one that took up some time when we considered the Bill in the committee. It is the one around which I have most concerns. As the Minister has said, the rest of the Bill is technical in nature. This is really important. People in Digital Rights Ireland and the ICCL, serious people who have given over time to study this, are sounding alarm bells. The Government is still parroting that mortifying line from the former Minister that it is mandatory but not compulsory. It is compulsory if a person wants to have the free travel pass. It is becoming more and more embedded. We are heading down a road without proper discussion and consultation. We are heading in the direction of a national ID card and I do not believe that this is what people want. In the absence of a discussion, it is said of the public services card that a person might like it but they do not have to have it. The Government will then add little bits to it until, eventually, we find ourselves in a situation where people cannot access the travel pass or public services without it. It is becoming increasingly more difficult. The Minister said in his opening remarks that he wants to make sure that offline application options remain possible, and that the digital systems are accessible and inclusive. They have to be accessible and inclusive to people who have legitimate concerns in relation to the storing of their biometric and other data. They are not. For as long as they are not, we have no option but to oppose this. The Minister said that the Department's strategy is to encourage the take-up of online services on a digital-by-desire basis but that is not the case with at least one aspect. We know that this is going to grow. He told us that he took particular note of the recommendations relating to informing individuals that the use of the PSC is voluntary, either by legislation or by a public awareness campaign, and that he supports the underlying objective of the recommendations and that he has asked his officials to examine them further. We will have this discussion on Committee Stage and I look forward to it. I hope the Minister looks forward to receiving the amendments that I will be putting down and having that engagement, because it is important. We would be foolish, as would the Minister, to stand in this Chamber and pretend that there are not legitimate concerns. People are concerned. They are concerned about the processing of their data, about giving over information without necessarily knowing that the information is needed and that the information will be handled correctly. There is an ongoing legal case, which I will not refer to. In that atmosphere and given that fact, it is incumbent on us to go slowly on this, to have that consultation and to listen to those experts. There was no meaningful consultation, no quantifiable way of establishing whether or not people actually want this card. I note that representatives from the Department say that people want the card but it is not asking if people want the card. They are applying for it in many instances because they do not have a choice but that is not the same thing as saying that they want the card. I look forward to engaging with this legislation on Committee Stage. I look forward to debating amendments that will be brought forward by myself and others. I assure the Minister of our co-operation in getting business done as quickly as we possibly can but he can also be on notice that we will not rush to a timetable that may or may not suit other people. We will be putting those concerns to the fore. People value their data. More and more, people are talking about concerns in relation to their own data protection and GDPR. This legislation does not do anything to allay the cautions that are necessary in relation to those concerns. For that reason, we will be putting forward amendments. In his remarks, the Minister has signalled a willingness to bring amendments on Committee Stage for certain aspects. I ask him to have a look at the points made by the ICCL and Digital Rights Ireland, to take them on board and to bring forward consequent amendments that will reflect the concerns that are out there. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-22/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-09-22