Rights group plans Ireland’s first ‘mass action’ legal campaign over Public Services Card
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Dr TJ McIntyre
A civil liberties group has announced plans to submit a legal complaint over the Public Services Card (PSC) on behalf of more than 1,000 people.
Digital Rights Ireland (DRI) said its new #no2psc campaign, launched yesterday, represented the first “mass action” legal campaign in Ireland.
Dr TJ McIntyre, a law professor and chair of Digital Rights Ireland, said: “Ireland does not have the ‘class action’ lawsuits made famous by American movies. But under GDPR, we now have the power to file a legal complaint on behalf of multiple complainants.
“With #no2psc, we’re hoping to gather more than 1,000 Public Service Card users to force an end to the government’s mass abuse of personal data.”
He added: “The Public Services Card has become a stealth national ID card. More and more public bodies are demanding service users present a PSC.
“Using the PSC as a national ID card with no underpinning legislation or safeguards for members of the public is simply illegal.”
Dr McIntyre said submitting a complaint under the GDPR would give the Data Protection Commissioner, whose ruling on the PSC under separate data protection legislation is now the subject of litigation, “additional powers to require the government to comply, including fines of up to one million euro”.
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