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| 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
