Department of Social Protection reaches agreement with the Data Protection Commission in relation to SAFE registration and Public Service Card

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:

• it is acknowledged that the Department of Social Protection can continue to process personal data to authenticate a person’s identity and issue them with a PSC, which can be used for the purposes of accessing public services, both those provided by the department and those provided by other public bodies
• it is also acknowledged and accepted that the department and other specified bodies can continue to use MyGovID as the sole means of authenticating identity for the purpose of accessing online services, provided that an alternative service channel is available
• the department has undertaken to work with the DPC to develop an agreed programme of work to ensure that any non-public service identity data that may be collected during a SAFE registration is permanently deleted or irreversibly redacted. In addition, the department has undertaken to make some changes to its privacy statement as requested by the DPC

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Consequent on the agreement, the DPC has withdrawn its Enforcement Notice and the department has withdrawn its appeal.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:

SAFE/PSC

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

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:

• Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
• Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
• Department of Public Expenditure and Reform
• Department of Social Protection
• Dublin City Council (voter.ie)
• Revenue Commissioners
• Road Safety Authority (National Driver Licence Service)
• Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI)

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.

Cost-Benefit Analysis Report

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:

• as a mature project with annual costs of about €10 million and annual benefits of about €30 million, the framework yields savings of over €20 million every year
• the investment in this framework paid for itself in less than five years
• from 2010 to 2019, the total cost of the investment was €98 million but this generated benefits of €218 million over the same period
• the total savings from the entire project from its inception out to 2030, adjusted for the time value of money is highly positive at over €206 million