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Minister Donohoe encourages signing up for Public Services Card

Min Donohoe

Minister Donohoe signing up for his Public Services Card in Dublin

Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Paschal Donohoe today called on everyone over the age of 18 to sign up for a Public Services Card. 

The card is designed to assist people in accessing a range of Government services. Initially, this focused on social welfare payments such as Child and Jobseekers’ Benefit, as well as the Free Travel Pass and State pensions. However, over time, it is being rolled out to other public services and will become the means by which access to public services will be verified and delivered in Ireland. 

Application for a PSC is via face-to-face registration using the SAFE (Standard Authentication Framework Environment) registration process. This is designed to establish and authenticate an individual’s identity for future access to public services, allowing individuals to gain access to public services without having to give the same information to multiple organisations. 

Minister Donohoe said: "The Public Services Card acts as a key to more efficient and better-run public services. It enables the State to provide new and enhanced services to the public while also achieving efficiencies in administration and helping to eliminate fraud. The PSC is being rolled-out across our public services, with the technology contained within the card providing for the elimination of the duplication of identities or multiple benefit claims being made by individuals."

Those over 18 years of age who have not yet signed up for a Public Services Card to do so today by making an appointment by logging on to www.mywelfare.ie or by calling into their local social welfare office.

Read the press release here