Trust in gov/Gardai is at all time low - why trust them with new ID card system?

Impetus

Monday’s Irish Times announced a new requirement to possess a ‘public services card’ for anybody ordering a new Irish passport from the Autumn (2017). I, like probably hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Irish passport holders do not live in Ireland.

The specimen card, whose design looks 1930’s ugly oirish, (and which was removed from the illustration in the Irish Times website, this morning – to be replaced by a icon) will cost (they say) EUR 65 million to introduce, and does not provide the benefits of ID cards issued in most other EU countries – which can be used for travel (where no visa is required).

The very idea of a public services card, which is not a proper international ID card, is dishonest in itself. It is a “pretend we have no ID card” card – which amounts government by racketeering. No benefit to the cardholder – only to the state. The same applies to the Eircode, which uses random codes, making it impossible for a human being to decipher.

On the ID level, Ireland has three ID documents, at least – the passport, the passport card, and the ‘public services card’.

Not dissimilarity, Ireland has had five residential property tax systems – each requiring its own expensively designed platform to administer and collect – ‘rates’, residential property tax, non-principal private residence tax, household charge, and now LPT. Hundreds of millions wasted on system design and implementation costs and fees.

While I suspect that much data held by gov.ie is joined (a technical database term – not to be confused with ‘joined up thinking’) – without the need for any cards already the PSC will allow more interactions with state agencies to be joined. Which wouldn’t bother me if I believed that Ireland was a country where one could trust government, politicians and its agencies. And while I am sure there are many good public servants, including Gardaí etc, there are rotten eggs in the system, who I would not trust to walk my dog, if I had a dog.

The rotten egg is the weakest link in the chain.

Fortunately, I have few personal experiences of poor public service in Ireland. Aside from driving and the dysfunctional public transport during visits. The traffic lights in most cities are creating traffic chaos – rather than managing it efficiently - with about 33% of junction time wasted with 'to be sure, to be sure', deliberate ignoring of expensively computed cycle and phase times being over-ridden by guessed min and max green and red and crossing times. Roundabouts with traffic lights needlessly running 24h/24. Dysfunctional road signage and street furniture.

Ireland has had ‘a digital ID card’ since 1979 (called the PPSN). It was initially introduced for a few purposes such as tax, social protection and public health services. Since then, its use has expanded widely (function creep). What next? One will have to enter an identity number when posting to a public forum, such as boards, or subscribing to an online newspaper – so “they” can track the articles you read? The Irish government seems to be inventing or copying government technology used in tyrannically run countries. Eg Iran is the only other country to have assigned a postcode to each house (10 digits). The only country, aside from Ireland (Eircode).

The rest, I read about over and over in the Irish media.

“Only 21% of the public say that they trust Irish politicians”

“Public trust in the Gardaí is at an all-time low.”

99.5% of workers in the Irish civil service get a high rating for performance. Does this performance measure include the public ‘health service’, which appears to be ‘over administered’ and under-staffed when it comes to care delivery professionals? If so the assessment ‘system’ is a joke.

There were about 2.8m people in Ireland when I was learning geography in primary school. Now there are 4.64 million. Has there been a similar increase in hospital and other health resources to match the population increase? I doubt it, especially if one counts only healthcare workers (eg doctors, surgeons, nurses and similar) – leaving out the huge waste in admin staff in the HSE, at all levels.

A whistle blower in Irish prison service who made a ‘protected disclosure’ about issues he witnessed was ostracised by his work colleagues, he and his family suffered stress and he was denied career opportunities. Methinks gov.ie is a rotten employer. Will my personal data be protected like this unfortunate's 'protected disclosure' was protected?

I ask myself, why should I trust that ‘system’ with any increased ability to consolidate my government held personal data? Especially that I only need a passport, and it was an accident of nature that one was born in Ireland. What if the system they have gets hacked?

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/passport-applicants-will-have-to-have-state-s-public-services-card-1.3091037

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/poll-highlights-public-s-lack-of-trust-in-politicians-1.2968437

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/fact-there-s-so-little-trust-in-garda%C3%AD-is-not-just-sad-it-s-dangerous-1.3028160

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/almost-100pc-of-staff-considered-good-workers-35702579.html

https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0521/876834-prison-service-whistleblower/

oscarBravo

Impetus wrote: »

Monday’s Irish Times announced a new requirement to possess a ‘public services card’ for anybody ordering a new Irish passport from the Autumn (2017). I, like probably hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Irish passport holders do not live in Ireland.

Then it doesn't apply to you. The requirement only applies to Irish resident citizens. It also doesn't apply to renewals.

Ireland has had ‘a digital ID card’ since 1979 (called the PPSN). It was initially introduced for a few purposes such as tax, social protection and public health services. Since then, its use has expanded widely (function creep). What next? One will have to enter an identity number when posting to a public forum, such as boards, or subscribing to an online newspaper – so “they” can track the articles you read?

That's a fairly flawless example of a slippery slope fallacy.

Impetus

oscarBravo wrote: »

Then it doesn't apply to you. The requirement only applies to Irish resident citizens. It also doesn't apply to renewals.

Thanks for the clarification.

I spent an hour lining up for a passport check at Barcelona airport after returning from a trip to Ireland last month. They were checking everything biometrically - mainly fingerprints - which take 15 sec per PAX, and while the Irish card only has a pic on the chip, it still takes about 10+ seconds or so for the pic to appear for the checker from the chip (my guess/observation). We already have to provide API (enter your passport details at check-in) on flights to Spain from outside Schengen-land) - ie dopey Ireland. With Brexit Ireland should be in a position to become a full EU member, and join Schengen. It is easy to control traffic from GB to NI via airline check-in.

While there was one Blue EEA passport checker channel, one had to compete with two A380s of Middle Eastern / foreign transit passengers on the aircraft, for five passport checkers. I didn't feel as if I was in the EU. There was one long funnel of traffic from the air bridge to the passport check. So long, they had to switch off the escalator, as the large passport waiting hall was totally crowded. At CDG, they manage it better. At the start of the queue, someone sniffs out that you have an EU / EEA ID and you enter a separate queue.
The entire event felt like a third world experience - and perhaps this is the way that the Irish and EU (and Spanish) bureaucrats think "the masses" will put up with.

A friend of mine, who was visiting his daughter in London (another non-Schengen location), had to wait for 90 mins at SDC airport (another Spanish airport) a few weeks ago, to make arrangements for his daughter's marriage ceremony - arriving late at night. It was two in the morning before he got out of the airport.