A PUBLIC services card designed to cut down on bureaucracy and welfare fraud will be available by the end of the year, the Department of Social Protection has confirmed.
The department has issued a tender document for the provision of software to run facial image capture and assessment programmes for the photo ID.
It is hoped the card will cut down on time spent identifying and authenticating individuals and will also be a major deterrent to fraudsters. This new public services card will replace other cards used to access public services such as the free travel pass, the social services card, drugs repayment scheme card, medical card, Garda age card, EU health card and free travel pass.
It is anticipated that over three million of these cards will be issued, though no timeframe has been given. The facial image capture and assessment software will be used to test and ensure that photographs presented for the public service card are of a good quality. The quality required will be the same as for passport photographs.
It will have the capacity to determine if the person appearing to access public services is the same person as on the ID card, a measure it is hoped will deter fraudsters. Those who qualify for a card will be contacted by the department to go through a registration process involving the collection of a photograph and signature.
The department anticipates that registering those who are eligible will be complete by December 2010.
