Brendan Kenneally (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Question 246: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of forged Irish passports which have been brought to the State's attention over the past ten years; the origin of these reports; if there is any consideration being given to changing the passport design to make them more difficult to forge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30492/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There has only been one confirmed case of forged Irish passports brought to the State's attention over the past ten years i.e. those passports used in the Dubai assassination earlier this year. Officers of the Passport Service and An Garda Síochána are currently investigating a second case involving the alleged use of an Irish passport by a person currently before the courts in the United States.

The fake Irish passports used in the Dubai assassination and that alleged to have been used by the person recently arrested in the US were of a type produced before the introduction of the current Automatic Passport System (APS) in 2005. While the pre APS passport fully met the standards of the time, the APS passport involved a fundamental redesign and upgrading of the security of the Irish passport. This included the introduction of a more secure Irish passport personal details page (datapage) made of a polycarbonate substance containing the personal details and the photograph of the holder. The use of this polycarbonate makes it virtually impossible to reproduce without sophisticated production processes or alter without being detected by using standard examination techniques. The personal information is laser engraved to a level under the surface of the polycarbonate, making photo substitution impossible. The polycarbonate page is further protected by a series of additional production security measures which include the image of the applicant perforated through the datapage, optically variable ink and the use micro text.

In 2006 the security features of the APS passport were further enhanced with the development of a new ePassport. The ePassport includes a new additional microchip, personal data and a digital image of the passport holder. This now means the image of the face is presented in three areas – the photo on the personal details page, the laser perforation through the personal details page and on the chip. All three must match and all three are impossible to alter without the alteration being easily detected. Data on the microchip is further protected using encryption technologies.

Passport forgery is a worldwide phenomenon and its solution requires the co-operation of all States. The development of passport security standards is under constant review by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the Irish Passport Service works closely with ICAO and other passport agencies worldwide to ensure that these standards make passport forgery more difficult.