Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The Minister has noted what the Israeli Foreign Minister has had to say regarding the absence of knowledge by the authorities about this matter. He has also taken up the matter with his EU colleagues and it will be pursued. As has been said, we have no wish to see the integrity of our passports being compromised in any way. We recognise the impact this could have for the security of our citizens travelling abroad and of any suggestion that there could have been any mistaken understanding that we would be party to any such use of our passports for such nefarious purposes. I understand these passports were pre-2005, before the €25 million investment in biometric technology which greatly enhanced the security of our passport system. The House can stand united in the fact that we all accept this is an issue with serious implications, it is being pursued and will continue to be pursued to the greatest extent possible.

See this speech in context