Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 3 Oct 2001

Vol. 541 No. 2

Written Answers. - Identity Card Scheme.

Enda Kenny

Ceist:

163 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on the success of the black card identity scheme; the number of voluntary users to date; if his attention has been drawn to the widespread allegations of forgery of ID cards being available to young people; the reason this is the only form of identity acceptable in particular court district areas; the reason a valid passport is not accepted as a valid form of identity to gain entry to a publicly licensed premises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22273/01]

Enda Kenny

Ceist:

907 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the results of any assessment carried out by him and his Department on the success or otherwise of the black ID card system for entry to licensed public premises by young people; if he has been informed of incidents of forgery of such black ID cards; if this scheme is a voluntary scheme and is not imposed by legislation passed by the Oireachtas; if he will amend the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21846/01]

Enda Kenny

Ceist:

908 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason a passport is not deemed to be a valid form of identification for the purposes of entry to licensed premises for young people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21847/01]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue):

I propose to take Questions Nos. 163, 907 and 908 together.

The Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2000, which I initiated and which came into effect on 6 July 2000, represents a considerable strengthening of the law on underage drinking. It increased fines for breaches of the law on underage drinking, abolished the defence of "reasonable belief" in any proceedings against the licensee and made provision for a new penalty – a temporary closure order – on conviction of the sale of alcohol to underage persons. The temporary closure provision is intended to be a strong deterrent to abuses of the law in this area.

The removal of the "reasonable grounds" defence requires the licensee to ensure that intoxicating liquor is supplied only to those who are legally entitled to purchase or consume it on licensed premises. This places a much greater onus on the licensee to demand proof of age. The national voluntary age card scheme, which I introduced by way of regulations in April 1999, is designed to assist licensees in complying with the law. The scheme is intended for persons who have already attained 18 years of age and who are, therefore, legally entitled to purchase or consume alcohol on a licensed premises and who wish to do so. Its purpose is to provide evidence of age where a doubt exists. In this way, the scheme can assist both consumers and licensees. In any proceedings against a licensee for the sale of alcohol to an underage person, it is a defence to prove that an age card was looked for and was produced. Where a conviction for the sale of alcohol to such a person is upheld, a licensed premises will be the subject of a mandatory temporary closure order.

Age cards are issued by the Garda community relations section in Harcourt Square, Dublin 2. The application procedure is relatively straightforward and I am happy to say that, to date, over 40,700 cards have been issued. These cards have security features, which include a hologram, incorporated into their design and I am not aware of any widespread or systematic forgery of the age cards. I have been informed by the Garda of a small number of individual cases where cards were forged or interfered with and these are under investigation.

The 1999 regulations do not preclude the use of a passport for proof of age purposes. For many young visitors to our country it may be the only form of proof of age available to them. However, I encourage use of the age card wherever possible since a passport is a document primarily intended for another purpose. The current age card scheme, coupled with the substantial changes provided for in the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2000, is proving an effective deterrent against underage drinking. However, I am keeping the scheme under continual review and in that context I have recently established a review group within my Department which, in consultation with the Garda, will examine operation of the scheme with a view to identifying any defects coming to light and, if necessary, make appropriate recommendations. I expect that this group will report to me by the end of the year.