Congratulatory message on success of PSC at national awards met with scepticism from officials
A decision to post a congratulatory message regarding the success of the Public Services Card’s online form at a national awards ceremony was met with some scepticism from officials inside the Department of Social Protection.
The PSC’s online variant, MyGovID, was recently one of two winners among Social Protection projects at the Irish eGovernment Awards presented by Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty.
On foot of that result, secretary general for Social Protection John McKeon requested that attention be drawn to the achievement on both his Department’s website and that of MyWelfare.ie, the website dedicated to accessing welfare services using MyGovID.
“I’m not sure how this could be put on MyWelfare or the relevance there,” one official commented on the request, in messages seen by the Irish Examiner.
"Folks, did anyone know these awards were even on this week?” asked another.
"This looks OK imo (in my opinion), but as to relevance, I can’t see how it fits,” said a third.
“Publish today unpublish tomorrow?” he added.
“Don’t disagree but we will need to get something up if SG requested,” said the second.
Both notices are still live on their respective websites.
The eGovernment awards were held just under a month after the Data Protection Commissioner had delivered a report to Social Protection ruling that the PSC is illegal when used for services other than welfare. It said the Department must delete 3.2 million historical records it maintains on cardholders.
The report into the PSC was eventually published six days after the awards had taken place. Ms Doherty has vowed to challenge the DPC’s rulings in the courts.
The eGovernment awards are a privately-sponsored event, self-described as “Ireland’s most sought-after accolade in eGovernment”. A ticket to the event in September cost €262 per person.
