Ireland issues a "Public Services Card" which are useful when identification is needed for contacts regarding welfare and public services. They have photos but not birth dates and are therefore not accepted by banks. The card is also not considered as being an ID card by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP). In an Oireachtas committee hearing held on February 22, 2018, Tim Duggan of that department stated "A national ID card is an entirely different idea. People are generally compelled to carry (such a card)."