Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

This is quite a simple Bill that puts in place the administration of passports, as well as offences for the abuse and misuse of such passports. Having listened to the Minister of State and the reference to the births and deaths register, I believe that passports should be compulsory for everybody. It would save many problems for us. We had a big furore last year about the register not being kept up to date. There were questions about identification cards and difficulties with calculating the number of people in the State. A simple solution would be to require everybody to have a passport and to tie it in with the births and deaths register.

This also affords us an opportunity to look at the concept of including a small insert in the passport that can be taken out and used as identification locally. One of the reasons so many passports are lost is that young people carry them when going into a public house. It is a relatively big document in comparison to a laser card or a visa card. There would be merit in looking at the concept of replicating the passport on the equivalent of a visa card and inserting it in the passport. People can leave their passports at home and take out the insert, which is basically a replica of the biometric information in the passport.

Considering we have had such difficulties with false passports since the late 1970s, it is strange that it has taken us so long to bring forward such simple legislation. It is disturbing to think that the Colombia three have never been charged for an offence relating to the misuse of passports. That is a reflection on us all and I hope it does not reoccur. With a little bit of innovative thinking, we could solve many problems in that area.

When we talk about passports, we often think of the old scheme of passports for sale which caused a lot of controversy in Ireland. Some people who bought passports or Irish citizenship invested money in Ireland and did well during difficult times. When one reflects on a period from a contemporary perspective, it is often difficult to imagine the needs and requirements of the day. From today's perspective, it is difficult to imagine the concept of selling passports. It was a bad practice and I am glad it has been discontinued. I would not wish to see its re-introduction as passports and citizenship are valuable and should not be for sale.

I understand two offices issue passports, one in Cork and the other in Dublin, and I believe the Dublin office is earmarked for relocation to Balbriggan as part of the decentralisation programme. This may not be a good idea because, even at the best of times, it would be difficult for those travelling from Wexford or Galway to reach Balbriggan. Although it is a nice seaside town that has experienced decent growth in recent years, this decision is unwise as passport offices should be central and accessible. I recognise the passport office located on Molesworth Street is overcrowded. As Members can confirm every day as they walk past the office, there is enormous demand for the service it provides. Nevertheless, this is not a sufficient reason to relocate it to Balbriggan, which would cause difficulties. I ask the Department of Foreign Affairs to reappraise its position in this regard.

Irish citizens require passports to travel everywhere except Britain. As some airlines require identification when one travels there, the small insert in the passport might be useful. One could leave one's passport at home to act as one's template or hard drive while travelling with a small disk, which would make travel much easier for all. Moreover, those who lost their passports or encountered difficulties would have a backup document available.

I refer to children on passports. I have young children and the faces they present at passport control are hardly identifiable from their former appearance. The proposal to remove children from adult passports is worthwhile because this causes great difficulties when someone becomes ill or a mother is obliged to come home with a child. I encountered a case last year in which a mother who was abroad was obliged to return home for a certain reason. However, her child, who had travelled on the mother's passport, remained in Spain and the family was required to obtain an emergency or temporary passport.

While this Bill is not highly controversial, when the concept of using biometric data in passports was first raised in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks, some civil rights groups thought it might constitute an intrusion. Any measure that can be taken to assist in the security of citizens is welcome and this is not a difficult measure to take.

The Minister issued a statement some time ago to the effect that the cost of introducing this measure was €6.1 million, having been estimated at €8.8 million at the outset. However, the legislation's introductory document mentions a cost of €34 million. I assume the latter cost includes the technology that must be put in place at airports. The Minister of State should clarify, perhaps on Committee Stage, what are the costs. While two different figures have been put forward, I am sure they are not directly comparable.

Will this technology be in place when the passports come into being? The Minister of State's contribution leads me to believe that one will still be able to use one's old passport. However, those travelling to the United States with their old passports will be obliged to obtain a visa while those with biometric passports will be able to travel there without a visa. Will it be possible for citizens to cash in, for want of a better word, their old passports before their dates of expiration and obtain biometric passports to avoid being obliged to secure a visa?

While I am not an expert in biometrics, I refer to the scenario in which a person playing hurling in Wexford receives a blow from a hurl that breaks his nose——

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