Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 343: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if a request was made on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23322/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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In February 2010 a technical advisor to the Israeli Interior Ministry made contact with the Department and asked if a meeting could be arranged with the Passport Service to discuss a range of passport technology issues of international interest. The meeting was proposed in the context of a visit by officials of the Israeli Interior Ministry to a number of European countries.

The Israeli delegation proposed to present information in respect of the technologies used in the Israeli passport and learn from the experiences of other countries who had developed similar systems. The meetings would also discuss the benefits and pitfalls of the international system for exchanging passport security data. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Public Key Directory is a system for exchanging data which is subsequently used at border control points to validate the authenticity of passports. The meeting request was declined.