Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2002

Personal public service number — extension of provisions.

12.—(1) Section 223 (as amended by section 32 of the Act of 2000) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)—

(i) by inserting the following before the definition of “primary account number”:

“‘personal public service number’ means a number allocated and issued in accordance with subsection (2);”,

(ii) by inserting the following after the definition of “primary account number”:

“‘public service identity’, in relation to a person, means the information specified in subsection (3) and the person's personal public service number;”,

(iii) in the definition of “specified body”, by inserting the following after paragraph (c):

“(cc) the Civil Service Commissioners,”,

and

(iv) in the definition of “transaction”, by substituting “relating to a public function of a specified body” for “relating to public funds to or from a specified body”,

and

(b) by substituting the following for subsections (2) to (6):

“(2) The Minister may allocate and issue a personal public service number to each person who is the subject of any transaction with a specified body.

(3) (a) For the purposes of allocating and issuing a personal public service number, a person or, in the case of a deceased person, a personal representative, who has any transaction with a specified body shall furnish to the Minister the following information in relation to the person or the deceased person, as the case may be:

(i) surname;

(ii) forename;

(iii) date of birth;

(iv) place of birth;

(v) sex;

(vi) all former surnames (if any);

(vii) all former surnames (if any) of his or her mother;

(viii) address;

(ix) nationality;

(x) date of death;

(xi) such other information as may be prescribed which, in the opinion of the Minister, is relevant to and necessary for the allocation of a personal public service number.

(b) Where a person who has a transaction with a specified body is under the age of 18 years, the following information in relation to the person shall be furnished to the Minister—

(i) the information specified in paragraph (a), and

(ii) the public service identity of his or her mother and father.

(4) A person shall give to a specified body his or her personal public service number and the personal public service numbers of his or her spouse and children, where relevant, as required by the body for the purposes of the person's transaction.

(5) Where a specified body collects from a person any of the information specified in subsection (3), that information shall also be collected for the purpose of maintaining the person's public service identity.

(6) (a) Where a specified body has a transaction with a person, the Minister may share the person's public service identity with the specified body to the extent necessary for authentication by the specified body of the person's public service identity.

(b) A specified body may use a person's public service identity in performing its public functions insofar as those functions relate to the person concerned.

(7) Where an tArd-Chláraitheoir collects information relating to the registration of the birth of a person, the information shall also be collected for the purpose of allocating the person's personal public service number.

(8) In this section a reference to a personal public service number shall be read as including a reference to a number known as a revenue and social insurance number.

(9) A person, other than—

(a) the person to whom the personal public service number concerned refers,

(b) a specified body,

(c) a person who has a transaction with a specified body where the personal public service number is relevant to the transaction between the person and the specified body, or

(d) a person who is required to comply with the provisions of section 221 or 222 or regulations made under those sections,

who uses a personal public service number or seeks to have a personal public service number disclosed to him or her shall be guilty of an offence.”.

(2) Section 4(5) (as amended by section 14 of the Act of 1998) of the Principal Act is amended by substituting “223(1), 223(3), 223A(1)” for “223(1), 223A(1)”.