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Pavee Point hosts ICCL talk on privacy issues and Public Services Card
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Pavee Point Traveller & Roma Centre was delighted to host a talk by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty on Ireland’s Public Services Card, organised by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) and Digital Rights Ireland on Monday 29th July.
Professor Philip Alston speaking at Pavee Point. Maxwell Photography
Professor Philip Alston spoke in an academic capacity about the need for a public debate on the issues of transparency and accountability surrounding the Public Services Card.
“The Irish government is taking decisions which will have huge potential consequences for governance in the future without any transparency or public debate,” said Professor Alston.
“Very worryingly indeed, we have no information as to what state agencies will be able to gain access to the biometric information stored on the card.
“Down the line you may have a situation where information as sensitive as health data may be stored in a database accessible by many state bodies and which, unless huge protections are put in place, is vulnerable to attack.”
Martin Collins, Pavee Point Co Director, Professor Philip Alston, Liam Herrick, Executive Director, Irish Council of Civil Liberties and Anastasia Crickley, Chairperson, Pavee Point. Maxwell Photography.
