Government criticised over plan for ‘ID cards by stealth’

Government plans to require Irish passport and driving license applicants to hold a public services card have been criticised by civil rights groups.

Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Paschal Donohoe has confirmed that the requirement will be introduced for passports this autumn and for driving licenses next year.

Mr Donohoe said the new policy is necessary because of the “increase in acts of terrorism over the last several years”.

However, Dr TJ McIntyre, UCD law lecturer and chairman of Digital Rights Ireland, has likened the plan to “introducing a national ID card by stealth, in a way which appears to be illegal”.

His point of view is supported by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties.

Liam Herrick, executive director of the ICCL, told Irish Legal News: “We do not have confidence that existing privacy protections in relation to Government control of personal data are sufficient. There are ongoing concerns relating to access to personal data by government departments and sharing of information across public bodies.

“In such a context, any significant expansion of government capacity, reach and powers is unjustified and presents serious threats to individual rights.

“The move from a voluntary or small-scale project of public sector cards to requiring all passport and driving licence applicant to present these cards is very significant.

“While we are not in a position to give a conclusive legal view as the legality of this policy, we regard this move as a material and fundamental change in the nature of the card system, and we would support TJ’s view that this is mandatory cards “by stealth”.”

Mr Herrick added: “ICCL calls on Government to clarify the position on public sector cards – if they wish to introduce mandatory national ID cards, they should propose such a measure through primary legislation and facilitate a national debate on such a measure.

“In such a debate ICCL would argue that ID cards are an ineffective, expensive and intrusive mechanism to advance the stated public policy objectives. We note that plans to introduce a national ID card system in the UK were abandoned in 2010 for these reasons.”