Why is there so much controversy over the Public Services Card?

The Explainer

In 2011, the Public Services Card (PSC) was introduced in the form of a pilot scheme for some social welfare recipients.The idea was simple: Streamline the delivery of multiple services such as social welfare by confirming the user's identity on a simple card.But in recent years, it has become nothing but a headache for government. Criticism grew over the use of the card for more services than originally intended, sparking concerns it was quickly becoming a de-facto national ID card backed by a database of citizens' biometric data, accessible by dozens of agencies.It has come to a head after the Data Protection Commissioner ruled in a landmark investigation that there was no lawful basis for anyone to be required to get a PSC for anything other than social welfare payments and benefits.So where did it go wrong with the card? Was this inevitable or could it have been avoided? And why exactly is it so controversial?

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