A Passport Card for All, not just for Drinkers!

What It might Look Like - A 'Novelty' Irish national ID Card For Sale Online

Having gone quiet since it was first mooted some years back, an article in the Irish Times last week reminds us that the idea of Passport Cards has not been abandoned entirely.  Ireland needs to introduce such cards for a host of reasons – but the constant focus on use in pubs distracts from other benefits.

Ireland and Britain are the only two European Union nations which do not issue National Identity Cards.  This means that the only valid form of ID for Irish and British citizens abroad is their passport.   All other EU nations, the US, Switzerland and many other countries have a credit card National ID document and or a Passport Card. 

For our EU neighbors, these cards can be used to travel through the entire EU and Schengen Zone as well as in some cases also to Egypt, Turkey, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe, Georgia, Macedonia and to Serbia. The state driver’s license is universally accepted internally in the USA, as ID and also those travelling to Mexico and Canada by land can choose to use a Passport Card as an alternative to their traditional passport book.

 
The recent report from the Irish times tells us that the Passport Service has been working on a proposal to introduce a new passport card for travel within the EU.  Currently, Irish driving licenses are only acceptable as ID to travel to the UK (Ryanair still want passport/national ID) and after that a passport is required.  But why has this taken so long to introduce?

Apparently the Department of Foreign Affairs is currently looking at proposals, and has been since before current minister Charlie Flanagan came to the post.  Discussions are ongoing.  The current minister is lending his support, and it appears that the Passport Service are also open to the idea.

“We want to have a modern effective Passport Service for citizens, and we are exploring this as an innovative possibility in terms of convenience and ease of use.” – A spokesman for the Passport Service

There is however a continued emphasis, which is visible in the article, suggesting that the main demand for these ID cards relates to increased convenience for drinkers in pubs and nightclubs. This argument seems to trivialize the proposal and to suggest that it’s not important - why rush to help out young drinkers - but this misses the point on three fronts.  

Firstly, we are continually told that Ireland has an abnormally high rate of passports reported lost / stolen. The reason for this is simple – if you need your passport for every night out, then you bring your passport out more.  If you bring your passport out more you are more likely to lose it.  I suspect no other country on earth sees nightclub attenders bring passports along in such numbers.  More passports lost means more fraud risk, cost to the individual and the state as well as adding to processing times at the Passport Office.  Passports as the only choice of ID - this makes no sense. 

Secondly, not having a National ID or Passport Card is a major inconvenience for those who live in countries which require that all adults have ID on them at all times.  Most mainland EU countries have this requirement, meaning that Irish living in Germany, France or Poland are legally required to carry their passport with them at all times or risk arrest.  Clearly a credit card sized National ID or Passport Card would be more convenient when say.. going cycling or swimming… for example.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, not having a card is a disadvantage to Irish workers, particularly those who travel a lot for work.  In particular the burden falls on those who travel to visa required states or who need work authorization for the kind of work they are doing abroad.  Whilst Irish passport holders can travel to 170 countries (See link and image below) without a passport in advance, this relates to tourist trips – not necessarily work trips where a visa may still be required. 

If an Irish person has their passport at an embassy awaiting a visa, they are therefore unable to travel through the EU pending the embassy decision.  In addition, if they live in a mandatory ID country, they technically can be arrested during this time for not having ID with them.  This is quite unlike our EU neighbors, who can travel at will with their National ID cards whilst the visa is pending, attending meetings, driving trucks or selling their goods across Europe. This hindrance should not be underestimated.  It is a major business disadvantage in hiring an Irish citizen over a citizen of another EU state for haulage/freight companies or other industries with significant international travel requirements outside the EU.

It is possible to apply for an additional 'business' passport to overcome these issues, but the current application system is onerous, the documents are expensive and they only last a maximum of 3 years.  In addition, the paperwork required to justify need for such a business passport is significant, all of which needs to be officially translated to English and sometimes there is a mandatory interview.  If you work for a foreign firm this takes time, money and hassle – the firm will just send the other guy! This is not good enough with Irish abroad competing for jobs. 

In summary, Ireland needs Passport Cards as a voluntary alternative to our traditional Passport book. These cards are demanded not only by young drinkers, but also by many citizens across all sectors, including not least those in business.  Hopefully they will soon become a reality so the passport book can have a rest!

Minister- please push ahead with the Passport Card initiative!

References:

Irish Times : 13.08.2014 : http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/minister-backing-proposal-to-introduce-passport-card-1.1895111

National ID Images : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_identity_cards_in_the_European_Economic_Area

Visa requirements by Nation:

http://www.movehub.com/blog/world-passport-power