Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 23 Feb 1995

Vol. 449 No. 6

Written Answers. - Passport Costs.

Ivor Callely

Ceist:

34 Mr. Callely asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the costs of ten year and one year Irish passports in 1995; the estimated cost of obtaining the European ID card when available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3920/95]

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Spring)

The standard fee for a ten-year passport with 32 pages is £45. A 46-page version is available at £55. One-year passports are no longer issued. A three year, non-renewable, passport is available for £10.

There are no plans at European level to introduce a European identity card.

Many of our EU partners have national identity cards. The average cost of these cards is less than £10; they are usually valid for ten years and may be used for travel to other EU countries.The Netherlands have recently introduced what they call a European identity card which is valid for a number of European countries outside the EU as well as for EU countries.

The possible introduction of a national identity card in Ireland is a complex issue which would require indepth debate. Its introduction could not be justified simply as a low-cost alternative to a passport. Given the travel patterns of Irish people, a high proportion would continue to require a passport with worldwide validity even if a separate document for EU or European travel were available. The administrative difficulties associated with the production of two different types of travel documents would hardly be justified in cost-benefit terms.