From Department of Social Protection
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The Department of Social Protection and the Data Protection Commission (DPC) have today reached agreement on the processing of personal data in relation to SAFE registration and the Public Services Card (PSC).
This agreement was reached in the context of an appeal by the department against an enforcement notice issued by the DPC which, as part of its terms, required the department to cease all processing of personal data carried out for the purpose of SAFE registration and the issuing of PSCs other than where a PSC is issued in relation to a person claiming, presenting to, or receiving a benefit from the department.
Restricting SAFE/PSC to department customers only would have had significant implications both for the operation of the SAFE process and the current approach to the delivery of safe and secure high value public services by other public bodies.
Under the agreement:
A notification agreed between the DPC and the department concerning the Agreement. See further detail on the matters agreed.
Consequent on the agreement, the DPC has withdrawn its Enforcement Notice and the department has withdrawn its appeal.
Commenting on the settlement, Minister for Social Protection Humphreys said:
“I am very pleased that this matter has been resolved. Given the high level of PSC/MyGovID take-up, today’s agreement is good news both for our citizens and public service providers.
“Most importantly, the agreement means that members of the public can continue to apply for their Public Services Card for the purposes of transacting with government departments, which has proven extremely useful given the increased online interaction during COVID-19.
“My department looks forward to working constructively with the DPC to ensure the data protection rights of our citizens are fully protected.”
One of the functions of the Minister for Social Protection is the authentication of the identity of persons, for purposes of transactions as set out in legislation. SAFE registration is the process through which the Minister authenticates identity.
Once a person has successfully completed this process, they are issued with a Public Services Card (PSC) which can be used as proof of identity when transacting with certain public bodies specified in social welfare legislation.
SAFE registration with a PSC also forms the basis for the provision of a secure online MyGovID account.
To date, some 3.5 million people have authenticated their identity through SAFE registration and have been issued with a PSC.
MyGovID is the secure online identity authentication service provided by the Department of Social Protection (DSP) which can be used to access high value public services online. It provides users with a single login and verification process that can be used across many public services, it provides strong assurance to service providers that the person accessing online services is the person they claim to be and it helps to protect against online identity theft.
Prior SAFE registration and a PSC is required to set up a verified MyGovID account.
Over 3m people have set up a MyGovID account and to date in 2021 there have been over 21m logins to MyGovID for the purpose of accessing public services.
MyGovID can be used to access online service(s) provided by the following public service bodies:
The Voter.ie website is administered by Dublin City Council on behalf of Dublin City Council and Fingal, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, South Dublin County Council for the purposes of preparing the Registers of Electors.
The Public Service Identity (PSI) management framework consists of the SAFE registration service, the PSC and MyGovID.
In November this year, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform published a cost-benefit analysis report on the PSI management framework. The report found that: