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recent bookmarks from jmComment: 'Mandatory but not compulsory' - what exactly is the justification for the Public Services Card? - Independent.ie2017-08-30T11:32:31+00:00
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/comment-mandatory-but-not-compulsory-what-exactly-is-the-justification-for-the-public-services-card-36083216.html
jm'Mandatory but not compulsory". This ill-judged hair-splitting seems likely to stick to Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty in the same way that "an Irish solution to an Irish problem" and "on mature recollection" did to politicians before her. The minister used that phrase to defend against the criticism that the public services card (PSC) is being rolled out as a national ID card by stealth, without any clear legal basis or public debate. She went on to say that the PSC is not compulsory as "nobody will drag you kicking and screaming to have a card".
This is correct, but irrelevant. The Government's strategy is one of making the PSC effectively rather than legally compulsory - by cutting off benefits such as pensions and refusing driving licences and passports unless a person registers.
Whether or not the PSC is required by law is immaterial if you cannot function in society without it.
]]>psc id-cards ireland social-welfare id privacy data-protectionhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:jm/b:30fad3c3e779/Automated unemployment insurance fraud detection system had a staggering 93% error rate in production2017-03-28T10:31:46+00:00
https://twitter.com/elizabeth_joh/status/838967852476485632
jm
State officials have said that between Oct. 1, 2013, when the MiDAS [automated unemployment insurance fraud detection] system came on line, and Aug. 7, 2015, when the state halted the auto-adjudication of fraud determinations and began to require some human review of MiDAS findings, the system had a 93% error rate and made false fraud findings affecting more than 20,000 unemployment insurance claims. Those falsely accused of fraud were subjected to quadruple penalties and aggressive collection techniques, including wage garnishment and seizure of income tax refunds. Some were forced into bankruptcy.
The agency is now reviewing about 28,000 additional fraud determinations that were made during the relevant period, but which involved some human review. An unknown number of those fraud findings were also false.