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LAST UPDATE | 9 Dec 2021
PEOPLE LEFT QUEUING for hours outside a Dublin walk-in centre before hundreds were turned away for the day, have labelled the incident as “a fiasco” and “shambolic”.
The HSE advised people not to attend walk-in Covid booster clinics at UCD and Croke Park this morning after hundreds queued from the early morning and both centres reached capacity.
The Tánaiste Leo Varadkar apologised in the Dáil this afternoon for those who had been left waiting or turned away: “I just want to express my regret and apologise on behalf of the government for the inconvenience faced by people this morning.”
People towards the front of the queue at UCD had been waiting in line since 7.30am. The centre was due to open at 8am and stay open for walk-ins until 10am, but at 9.30 hundreds of people in the queue were told the centre was closed for walk-ins.
Many agreed that there was a communications issue about what people should do, and commented that GPs were not answering phones and chemists did not have the supplies.
Almost all of those waiting in the queue who spoke to The Journal said they had received a text message from the HSE the night before, advising them to attend their nearest walk-in centre if they had not received an appointment from their GP.
This seems to have led to the increased demand at vaccination walk-in centres today.
From today, people aged 50 to 59 can receive their booster jabs, once it has been at least five months since their second vaccine, or three months since the one-shot Janssen.
As has happened at other walk-in booster clinics in recent weeks, large queues were seen forming outside the UCD centre from this morning. The queue stretched from the Gerard Manley Hopkins Building, which is where the walk-in clinic is set up, and past the student residences towards the GAA pitch.
One person in the queue said it stretched as far back as the Clonskeagh Road at one stage.
Many in the queue at UCD were aged in their 60s, and turned up today after not being able to get a booster appointment from their GP or local chemist.
Two women said they wouldn’t mind being turned away if they were able to get in touch with their GPs or pharmacist about a booster appointment.
“We can’t get the doctors to vaccinate us, we can’t get the chemist to vaccinate us,” one said.
One couple near the start of the queue at UCD said they had been in line since 7.30am for a booster jab after the man, aged in his 60s, received a text from the HSE to say he should attend a walk-in clinic for his jab.
When another woman was asked what she thought of the Taoiseach’s comments from earlier in the week about people not showing up for booster appointments, she gestured towards the queue and said: “Look at this, this is a joke”.
The queue for boosters at UCD. The tail-end of the queue has been cut off and been told there will be no more beyond that. pic.twitter.com/XmdycsTi2y
— Gráinne Ní Aodha (@GNiAodha) December 9, 2021
Another man said that it was “a little bit shambolic”.
“There are three ways to get a vaccine and it strikes me that the IT system doesn’t have the features to link up the ways boosters are offered,” he said, adding that he was lucky he was able to queue up outside the centre, but that some people who arrived had mobility issues.
Another man, aged 64 who had been queuing since 8am, said that it was a “fiasco”.
He attended the walk-in clinic after getting a text from the HSE last night to attend his nearest vaccine centre, and that because Citywest was closed today, he came to UCD.
He added that an official had told him that they can vaccinate 100 people an hour at the UCD clinic, and that he could be waiting for 4 hours until he was jabbed.
He said that they had been told nothing since the walk-in centre was closed other than to get an appointment. “How can they run out of vaccines by 9.30am?” he asked.
UPDATE - Current queuing times
— HSE Ireland (@HSELive) December 9, 2021
📍UCD - very large queuing times. Please do not go there as the centre is at capacity. Shoreline vaccination centre is open from 9 to 5.
“They’re making fools out of people, telling them to come and then turning them away.”
Another man suggested that the Taoiseach and Minister for Health should come to the vaccine queue before making statements about low uptake rates, and said the Tánaiste’s commitment about 40-to 50-year-olds getting their booster jab this month was “nonsense” and “unfair”.
“Everything at the summer went really smoothly, it’s a logistical issue,” he said.
“And it’s not just today, this has been going on for weeks.”
The HSE advised people on Twitter not to attend the UCD centre as it is already at capacity with “very large queuing times”. The health service advised people to instead attend the clinic at Shoreline Leisure Centre in Wicklow, which it says is open from 9am to 5pm.
At around 9.10am officials told people nearer the end of the queue that no more vaccines are available. Later on, this message was relayed towards people closer to the top of the queue, though around 50 people stayed to “find out” whether they could still get a booster vaccine once they reached the top of the queue.
HSE National Director Damien McCallion said that every vaccine centre “has a certain capacity”.
He said HSE social media provides daily updates to show which walk-in centres have queues, and to advise of any other centres nearby with walk-ins available.
“So if you take UCD, you’ve options in terms of Citywest, Croke Park, Shoreline,” he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
“So there’s a range of centres… if people see that there are queues in one area, they may be able to decide to go to an alternative centre or wait until those queues abate over the day.”
The HSE has been contacted for further comment.
With reporting from Orla Dwyer.
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It sounded like a great idea down as far as the 35euro charge.
Bit steep.
We’re not getting a bad deal –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_identity_cards_in_the_European_Economic_Area
Some countries more expensive, some cheaper and some free of charge.
It’s essentially a new version of the old 1-year passport that disappeared about 20-odd years ago in the UK.
Only a lot more costly. Funny, that.
This is a good idea but it also highlights the need for the introduction of a national identity card for every citizen as a one stop shop for all ID requirements.
@John, we have a national ID, the black Garda ID if you apply for it serves as a national ID. If you’re talking about everyone being issued a national ID, that can’t legally be done in Ireland, thankfully.
What’s the issue? Almost all other EU countries have these. If a Guard needs to request your ID here at the moment it’s convoluted – if you have an ID card no issues. Europeans have been using these for decades.
@Egg Head, you’re totally wrong there. The Garda ID is a Garda Age Card. It was introduced for young people to gain access to licensed premises, pubs, clubs and to purchase alcohol. It is an age verification card only which was introduced in association with Licensed Vintners and similar bodies to combat the use of fake ID’s. It has worked well for that reason. It is not a national ID card.
We should have a National ID card, it would sort out a lot of crap and messing around. Don’t know what any ordinary decent citizen has to fear from it, or the civil liberties crowd for that matter. Many countries successfully use National ID cards issued to every citizen. I think we should have one.
“Vere are your papers?”
Is that your best counter argument Egg Head?
Actually Egg Head has a point – in some EU countries you get fined for having no ID on you. When I was in Germany, police would ask “Ihr Ausweis, bitte” which is what EH rather clumsily tried to paraphrase.
I shouldn’t have to identify myself flippantly, none of this “if you’ve nothing to hide” nonsense, we have presumed innocence. I wouldn’t trust the state to issue such IDs without it being a spectacular clusterf*ck. it would make identity theft infinitely easier. It would cost a bomb – the UK suspended plans for a national ID card system due to prohibitive costs, and we would of course have to pay the Denis O Brien levy on any such system here. We already have numerous forms of ID, what is the point in adding another one, which legally we can’t be obliged to carry, at great cost?
That, and vere are your papers?
You’re right, we have numerous types of ID’s already, that’s why I would advocate amalgamating all into one ID. I don’t agree it would make identity theft easier, in fact, with the inclusion of biometric data, it could make identity theft infinately more difficult. Of course there would be cost, that’s inevitable but I believe it would bring cost savings in the long run given the greater efficiencies that would accrue. I would suspect it would make a huge impact to the criminal justice system too. At this moment the only form of ID a guard can legally require from you out on the street is a drivers licence, and that’s only if you’re driving. I’m guessing there could be major advantages to policing. I don’t see the problem. And as for Denis O’Brien, what’s he got to do with it?
A new version of a document that Irish people did not have 20 Years ago. Vanguard? Some nationalist you are
The UK suspended a plan in the face of a huge campaign based on the line ‘vere are your paper’s…
The problem with one overriding form of ID is that it will have all your sensitive personal info on it, whereas currently each individual ID has only the relevant info (PPS card has PPS number, driving licence has driving details etc.) If you have a chipped card with biometric data and all other personal data on it, then this is an identity thief’s wet dream. They can lift that info off the card without even having the card itself, just as long as they are in the vicinity, using a Bluetooth rifle. Guards can demand you positively identify yourself in any situation, and if they’re not satisfied detain you until you do. Again, would just be very expensive duplication.
The European ID cards would not be a bad idea but it is the law that they should be carried at all times.
In Spain if you are stopped by the police and you don’t have it, its a trip to the station until you can get somebody to bring it to you and you can be fined. Better not give then ideas to make money. They were introduced in England but they were done away with for that reason. A normal citizen who forgets to carry it can be detained violating heabus corpus.
Great value for a bit of laminated cardboard…. :-(
If an identity thief wants to get your data, they’ll get it. We’re all happy enough to dole aspects of our personal info out to every Tom Dick or Harry when we’re looking for a bank loan or credit card, or applying for a bloody online competition for a flat screen telly, but as soon as the State might require it, all hell breaks loose. No identity thief is going to be able to replicate a fingerprint or retinal data and these could be used as safety checks in addition to the card. For example, when you go into s Government Department to make a claim, a tax rebate or a social welfare issue, simple just give them a scan of your fingerprint and combined with your card, they know it’s you. Simple, efficient, cost effective.
In the UK you can be taken into custody if you can’t prove who you are and they can stop you for any reason, even for acting in a suspicious behaviour, I don’t see what all the fuss, paranoia and moaning is about as most people already have passports and driving licences etc even you pps number are all ids so why not have all this info in one easy package and one with a photo so it can’t be used for fraudulant purposes. All I know is my pocket is full of crap which I could do without carrying about
Egg head, a national id card only needs to carry the same info as your driving licence or your pps number so it would be basically the same but more conveniant but only as useful as your current pile of cards for fraud. I myself would love to have one with my current medical details on it as it would very useful if I was found unconcious due the drugs I’m on because of my medical condition.
You are missing the point. In these countries that is the only price they pay. In Ireland you must have a passport and then you can pay for the card.
In Denmark people are given a personal identification number at birth, this number is used with all interactions with public offices, and some private, ex, tax, banks, driving license, hospitals,doctors, social welfare, etc, etc, makes doing business easy, convenient and hassle free, cuts out fraud, corruption, and allows civil society to function, efficiently. Definitely not the Irish way.
Recently state and local government offices have stopped sending letters, to the public, everything is done online now
@Michael Fagan… Absolute common sense Michael.
Especially when I’ve already paid for my passport
I seriously can’t understand the paranoia surrounding ID cards. I’ve been living in the Netherlands for nearly 5 years where carrying ID is mandatory. I’ve never been stopped and asked randomly for my ID (which is actually illegal). The only times I’ve ever had to present my ID was in the exact same type of situations you’d need to present photo-ID for in Ireland anyway.
It just streamlines processes if everyone has to carry one.
Not to mind what sort of info will or could be stored on your national ID card…No one ever mentions that minor fact .
An extra e35.. F*** that!. Should come with the passport!
Who’s going to pay for it? It costs money.
Do you suggest cutting back on some other services? Or a tax-raise?
F**k off Dennis
Passport lasts longer and works out cheaper
But your passport is bulky and can easily get lost, this fits nicely into your wallet and you can travel anywhere in Europe.
Could they not replace the passport with this if you only travel in Europe ? €35 isn’t bad if you didn’t have to pay the €80 on top of this to get the card in the first place.
Mossad were involved in the development as their agents were complaining the regular one was too big to carry around.
I already paid the hugely inflated price for a passport, why pay another 35e for a poxy card when u have a passport already?
FFS, €80 for an incredibly important document that will last for 10 years is not hugely inflated.
You pay an extra €35 to have something that you can keep in your wallet if you do a lot of travelling – that is worth it. If you don’t, grand. Stick with your regular passport and stop complaining.
You dont have to Barry. Its not compulsory to have one.
This is TheJournal.ie, Pedro. If you have nothing to moan/whine about, keep your trap shut. ;)
35 eur rip off
Then don’t get one
About time, let’s join schengen now.
Unfortunately Ireland can’t sign up to the schengen agreement until the UK does, (which I can not see happening) due to our border up in nordie land
Or if the UK leaves the EU next year
This will be very handy for those who do a lot of travelling for work….
Pedro, the reason you state is not why you’re in favor of it.
Really? I’d love to know what it is then, please enlighten me.
I agree Pedro. In my previous job I had to travel a lot and it was annoying having to worry about my passport. Being able to slip this into my wallet would have been ideal. Not sure I really need one now but for people who travel a lot, or rely on a passport for ID this is a godsend.
Unfortunately Ger, some people just don’t understand that there’s a much bigger picture outside of their little world.
Why even bother
So it’s more for young people who are afraid of loosing their passports on a night out they can take that instead
In this day and age one photo ID should do all, passport, divers licence etc ….
If we were all chipped at birth it’d take all the hassle out of it.no queuing for pics,forms,having to renew it every few years also the cost of it all.
This is simply and ID card that most of the countries have for years. I was always amused by the fact that people are walking around with their passports to get in to nightclubs and all other places where over 18 are only permitted.
Why we don’t just have national Id I’ll never know
Alan b do you not have a chip already on your shoulder
Charles, it’s because some people are paranoid that it will turn Ireland into some form of police state.
Can’t wait to lose my new I.D the week before I head on holidays
You still have your full passport, so no problem except for the €35 you wasted.
Just the same as losing your passport, you’ll still be screwed
It would be far better if you could just apply for one of these instead of the passport. Could be a great alternative for just traveling within the EU. Obviously you’d have to get a full passport for travelling elsewhere but why could we not just have one of these for European travel?
They want more money
Most EU countries have national ID cards which can be used to travel within the EU. No need for a passport unless you’re travelling outside of the EU. Even some countries outside the EU like Macedonia allow EU citizens to enter with just their ID cards.
35 euro!!!!!! Fack off…!!! Me passport will do!!
Calm down, calm down, you don’t have to have one it’s like an extra, an accessory if you will, like matching earrings for a handbag…. you need the bag but don’t have to have the earrings
Next………… You can now travel with chip in the hand instead of a card.
Or in your case, a chip on your shoulder
Owned! Ouch!
Pretty standard in most EU countries, about time we caught up. A card I can carry in my phone case / wallet will be a lot handier than a passport. By the way the card costs €118,69 in the Netherlands,
Not quite Gavan, that’s the cost if applying to a Dutch embassy abroad. Each municipality, or Gemeente, is free to charge their own costs to a certain degree. The Gemeente Rotterdam charges €53 for over 10′s for example.
Can you name the countries that have a card style passport, rather than those that have national ID cards, which are completely different to this?
http://www.rotterdam.nl/product:identiteitskaart
You’ll see that, for a 10 year card, it only costs €53 to get the card in the Gemeente Rotterdam. The link you’re using is to the emergency costs of purchasing one abroad through a Dutch embassy.
First step towards having to carry an ID card.
We already have one, the PSS card. It was far to easy in the past to fraud the system. Even the drivers license is getting more secure.
What’s the issue with carrying an ID card?
Jason_ This is the problem.
https://ofamerica.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/national-id-papers-please.jpg
can you provide a link to get this card or the name of the app????????????
In July they can
What does Lauren O Sullivan think of this?
Are they trying to sneak in a National ID card by the back door?
Will they become mandatory?
Could you then be required to have it with you at all times?
@Aireach simple answer YES!All other countries do it so should we” type excuses will be trotted out.Along with the if you have done nothing wrong you have nothing to worry about sheep mantra.
As many an oppressor said as they herded off the stupid sheep who belived that nonsense to a labour camp.
500 million EU inhabitants, about 7% of the worlds population. That’s a lot of sheep. My own view – you’ve nothing to hide, what’s the issue? it’s not like the guards are running around grabbing people and trying to ID them randomly – if you’ve had an accident or committed a civil or criminal crime, the’re grounds to have to ID’d.
Gavan, maybe just protesting about water meters will be reason enough.
Gavan – I do have something to hide or St least protect: My privacy and right to go about my business without feeling like I’m in a police state.
*or at least protect
Better not travel to another EU country then, if the police stop you and you can’t prove your ID, you’ll be brought to the station until you can do so. It’s a criminal offence not to carry ID in some EU countries and has been for years. In my view, having a simple ID card on me will alleviate all that hassle.
Gavan we ALL have something to hide.If you dont I’m sure you wont mind if the Gaurds or Revenue dropped into your house at 3AM tomrrow.Rooted thru your personal papers without any warrant or reason.Questioned your wife and kids about your personal life and other matters ,without you or legal counsel present,had a poke into your lap top sand then just left an hour later???You would object???surely you have nothing to hide Gavan??Also Gavan,you might have forgotton,quite easily in smug neutral Ireland.That a few million people were easily rounded up and sent off to delightful places like Auchwitz,Threisenstadt or Dachau because of their dead handy and efficent national identification systems of countries visited by a certain Herr Hitler,and they managed to do four million Europeans in without computor data banks as well…..Whats to say there wont be another along on the way sometime ??Also,what information could be stored on that ID card.As you said your medical records,why not your tax records too?How about your sexual preferences?Whether you are permitted to own a gun or drive a car??Who your direct next of kin are?How about doing away with the ol Bank card too?Could do away with the social welfare card as well and whether you are working or not??Al this has been mooted by the great and good for “reasons to have national ID cards” And YOU want to let the police or more likely a criminal hacker tohave access to all this info at the touch of a few computor keys??Yeah thats pretty baaaaaad thinking alright!
Never been stopped or questioned Gavan by the police either driving or walking about Germany,Italy,France,Spain in 35 years of travel over there.Been stopped and questioned more times by AGS in the same time than I can count.Only time has been a cursory glance and scan in Germany at the passport control courtsey of Ireland not signing Shengen..So you might need Ze papers pleeze ” in Oireland than in the EUSSR these days…
Not much use for avoiding Q’s in European Airports that have installed Automatic Electronic Immigration gates. These cards can’t be read by these machines as far as I know, better off travelling with your e-passport!
“these cards can’t be read… As far as I know” You mean you don’t know but it’s a chance to whinge so you’ll take it.
….just checked, these cards can’t be used at automated immigration gates so you’ll have to que up….
And those electronic readers are slower than the usual access points. Bit like self service tills in Tesco.
Ah, there you are Thomas, the same a-hole who thinks that Provos should be allowed to murder people with impunity..
I think you might be surprised to learn how many Provo apologists on this website choked on their croissants reading that Ray.
Why not just get a normal passport? So if you need to travel outside the EU, you don’t need then apply and pay again for the book passport? It makes no sense! I wonder how much someone was paid to come up and implement this?
1. For the sake of €35 being able to have a card in your wallet rather than carrying around a booklet is well worth it if you travel a lot
2. It also pairs as an age card for those who need I.D on nights out, etc.
For a service that is completely optional but has quite a bit of functionality for those who would use it, this is getting some amount of flack here.
Pedro, its an ID card by the backdoor, stop trying to sell it as something else. The way you’re banging the drum for it here says it all.
Dave – It’s identification. I didn’t think I needed to state something so obvious…
I travel quite a lot to the UK for work. Being able to keep a card in my wallet instead of a 32 page booklet is definitely my preference. I’d pay twice as much for it.
Try not to let paranoia completely dictate your thought process.
Pedro, you’re on here banging the government drum all the time. If i feel paranoid regarding anything the government does i’m rightfully justified. They know ID cards were shot down years ago. This is simply a method of getting them in by marketing them as something else. You are overselling them by your comments here. Another reason to be suspicious.
I’m on here banging a common sense drum, Dave. I’ve not affiliation to any particular political party. I hate that the USC takes such huge portion of my wage. I hate that at 29, I probably won’t be able to afford the deposit needed for a house. I hate that a substantial portion of my wage each month pays for private bank debt. I hate the situation our country finds itself in. However, I also dislike the way SF, SP, PBP, etc all think that their fair tale economics is the solution.
If you think I’m here to spout some sort of government agenda it’s probably because at some point I said that logically, water charges make more sense than any other charge we’ve been lumped with, reason being is that it is a service. I also can’t believe how many people take to the street to protest an annual charge of €180 or whatever it is at the moment but are completely silent when it comes to the USC, something that takes 10 times that and more, annually.
If you are going to accuse me of being politically motivated, at least be accurate. I’m all for common sense, if there was a common sense party, that’s who I’d be voting for.
ID cards make sense. Maybe not for you but for the vast majority of the rest of the civilized world, they do.
At the end of the day, they’re optional anyway.
€35 for 5 years. €70 for 10. Cheaper than a passport. Unless you want to travel to the USA, that’s decent value.
You need a passport as well.
Thanks Caroline. Misread it. But can you use it without the passport? You just need a passport to purchase it?
Jason there are other non-EU countries other than the USA. Just in case you’re not aware :)
I wonder will we be able to renew the passport card in future, eg October 2020 without having a passport book – this hasn’t been made clear.
You can travel to some non-EU countries with it as well. I went to Macedonia recently and they allow European ID card as well as non-visa passport entry for EU tourists.
This is an ID card by the backdoor. It looks like a typical national ID card that is carried by people in Europe. In most cases it doesnt have to renewed every 5 years. The fact is for international travel you need the book type passport, not what will be seen as an ID card. As usual the government see it as a revenue source and price it as such.
and guess what? we’re an EU country – the only one without this card. Makes a joke of Irish people identifying themselves here and abroad. It’s also expensive in more EU countires to get a card – I believe the cost is related to spending power of respective countries.
The subject of ID cards came up for discussion a few years ago and were rightfully shot down. We don’t need and more government control in our lives. Do you trust the government not to abuse them, look at the PPS numbers and IW. Big Brother Europe would love us all to have, and be required to carry one. T the moment it is being sold as a passport. How long before we are all required to have and carry one.
The combined population of the EU is approximately 500 million people. Every other country has these ID for years. Leaving aside the conspiracy theorists who will revel in this, look at the practical day to day things. Want to jump on a plane to an EU country? No problem. Hire a car? No problem. Have an accident and need to be ID’d? No problem.
They are fitting tin foil hats just down the road from the passport office for those who don’t want one
Ask yourself why ID is needed. I live in a country where it is compulsory to carried ID at all times. I cannot book into a hotel in another town here without showing ID, neither can any national of the country. ID cards are issued to all citizens, if you lose it, the rigmarole in going to the police to get it replaced is a nightmare. But this is an ex communist country so people just accept it as normal. There are pros and cons to having to carry an ID card. It warrants proper debate. Not to be brought in by the backdoor as an additive to your passport.
Just because it looks like a typical National ID card, doesn’t mean it is one. This is a card version of your passport with all your passport features including passport number etc. It has obviously been agreed with airlines and airport security/customs around the EU as being acceptable, otherwise they wouldn’t have brought it in. If not, it will be found out very quickly, as soon as the first person tries to use one actually!
Heyy ,and guess what ?You can do all that with your passport anyway!!Your drivers liscense is a EU recognised document too.Its just the oafs who dont see how this can be abused and call others conspircy theorists and forget how helpful national ID card registers were to dictatorships for getting rid of “undesireables” in Europe,Soviet Russia and Africa from their societies in the last century.
Incidently, was at the holiday show at the weekend & they were demonstrating their passport renewal service which reminds you when it’s going to go out of date.
Great idea, but surely it would be simple to implement anyway as they already have the commencement & expire dates of passports. Could they not just send a reminder three months ahead ?
They were giving away a Microsoft Surface 2 if you signed up for it. Signup was on an iPad for some reason.
Wouldn’t really want a third party knowing my passport details, tbh is it really that difficult to look at your own passport to check when it expires? or has everybody given up on personnel responsibility.
Except it’s not a third party, it’s the Passport office.
Any link to the app or its name at least? This will be handy for short haul trips.
What’s the link for the app & is there a charge for it?
No more fake college ID’s allowed for the flaggin of Scrumpy Jack on a Friday night.
This looks like the American mini-passport that yanks can use to travel around the Americas and I am OK with that as it doesn’t do anything a passport doesn’t already do. In fact I suspect these min-passports will eventually replace paper book passports.
What I don’t want is the continental ‘Napoleonic Code’ model whereby you are forced to carry ID and if you don’t have it you spend the afternoon in a police station. A key freedom enjoyed under ‘Common Law’ in Ireland and the UK is that if you are doing nothing wrong then you get left alone, something ID cards go against.
“A key freedom enjoyed under ‘Common Law’ in Ireland and the UK is that if you are doing nothing wrong then you get left alone, something ID cards go against.”
In the Netherlands, it is obligatory to carry ID on you however a member of the police cannot request to see your ID without first giving a valid reason for doing so. The only time I’ve ever seen a police officer take an ID card was when I witnessed a man being arrested for assaulting a train conductor.
Currently living in the Netherlands and anytime I show my garda age card I get laughed at. This is a great idea
I’d advise getting your drivers license switched over if you have an Irish one already. You can do it at the Gemeente and it’ll cost around the same as getting one of these ID cards.
Thanks for the tip Jason. Don’t have a drivers license, planning on learning to drive here. Will be hard with the bikes!
At last.I live in Spain where tou must carry an id card everywhere. I have to bring my passport- this will make life a lot easier.
I had the same problem here in the Netherlands. Exchanging my bulky drivers license for a Dutch license helped a lot and I managed to switch my useless tractor license for a more useful moped license in the process.
Let’s see the wood for the tree’s here.. an extra €35 per head for the government??? Why don’t they roll them out to come with ur passport? Why be a totally separate payment? As it is the country can’t keep up with passport demand an now this is introduced on top of it so the 18 year olds can go to town on a Saturday night?
What’s the name of the app? I’m living in France it would be very handy
a proper driving licence card should also be available in card format. the pink piece of paper is ancient..
It already is…
Mary, the driving licence was changed to a card format over 2 years ago.
All new driving licences and learner permits are of the plastic card variety now. I have on a year and a half now.
@Mary Dundee
There already is a credit-card sized driving licence, since 2013.
Mary cant hear us…..shes listening to her Sony Walkman
France already has this card, why are Ireland so slow?
France is just that bit ahead of us as being a police state.
They don’t have this card. France has a standard ID card which can also be used to travel between EU and some non-EU countries and a regular passport for travelling to the non-EU countries which don’t accept EU ID cards.
For some reason Ireland is the only country without standard ID cards which can be used to travel.
It will be interesting to see of Ryanair accept it as they only accept a passport at the moment.
This is a passport, just a card version of your full passport. It has all the features of your full passport without all the pages.
Ryanair also accepts national ID cards from EU member states.
I’ve been travelling with my ID card for years. With Ryanair and all other airlines in Europe.
They have no choice but to accept the ID cards due to EU regulations.
Its a youth card this country needs. Working in a cinema trying to dertimine if some make up’d kid is 12 or not. Nightmare
It would be safer to carry in your wallet than your drivers licence as it doesn’t state your address i.e. the billing address of the credit card that was also in your wallet! Similary the thief would need your address to access your telephone banking etc.
A national ID card which I would totally oppose would carry all your personal information which would be very dangerous as I have just described.
Not really, the EU national ID cards carry exactly the same information on them as this proposed passport card. It’s incredibly impractical to issue ID cards which have a lifespan of 10 years and put addresses on them. In the last 5 years I’ve moved 3 times which would mean a need for 3 new cards which is ridiculous.
Did anybody check with O Leary that his airline will accept the card as a valid id or will he insist on passport as the only valid ID.Wonder how long we have to wait before FG/Lab make it madatory to purchase this card as a means of raising another tax and the price of passports will now go up as the govt will tell us that we now have the option of purchasing a cheaper ID instead of the 10 year passport.
It is a passport, not just an ID, but a card version of your existing passport. It clearly says passport on it and will have your passport number as well as other security features on it.
You need to have a full passport before you can get one of these.
They already accept European ID cards so your rant is unfounded.
What’s the link to the app????????????????????????
Can this be used in any country where Irish citizens can enter visa free?
EU only.
Americans can use their mini-passports anywhere in the Americas so perhaps these mini-passports could become a global standard for visa free travel.
“EU only.”
Nope, they can indeed be used in countries where no visa is required. The EU ID cards allow entry to visa free countries.
What’s the name of the app?
Why don’t they just say it’s compulsory to carry I.d. instead of this pussy footin about
Because it’s not compulsory to carry or indeed apply for one of these passport cards, the same as it is not compulsory to apply for or hold a full passport or any other photo ID for that matter!
The current passport is not accepted as proof of identity by An Garda Síochána. I was with an applicant for an over-18 ID and the garda on duty at the station said he couldn’t accept a passport on its own and needed an additional form of ID as well.
The applicant had just returned from Australia by way of the USA and found her passport acceptable to many agencies along the route.
Interesting how on the card it has a 10 year validity.
So another way for this government to milk the eejits here, so the card is not 35 euro because you need a passport to get one. So in truth the card is under 120 euros if you think about it?
I know where that minister can shove it…
While it’s definitely a welcome step, it seems pointless to tie it so tightly with having a normal passport.
Why does it’s validity have to be limited to that of your current passport, as well as five years?
And why do you have to have a normal passport to get one? In a five year period, you can be sure most citizens probably DON’T leave the EU, but to get the card they still have to apply for a full passport at the same time. Even though the full passport won’t do anything for you unless you plan to leave the EU.
€35 isn’t SO bad, if you ask me. The way they were talking about it before it sounded almost as though they were going to charge the full €80 for one. Certainly much better value than the Age Card.
This is a national ID card via the back door..How long before its compulsory I wonder?
So much more handier then taking your passport with you going out! I know from experience it’s a pain in the ass as I’m always the one looking after my mates passports! But then again could get an age card?
Ryanair will still want your passport. .!!
So, will RyanAir accept it?
They currently accept European ID cards as they are obliged to so there’s no reason why they wouldn’t accept this.
What’s the name of the new app?
I wonder if you can apply if you’re overseas
At 35 euro a pop I say yes…
This is a very good idea . If you’re overseas you might have to have your id too. I’m guessing foreign embassies pretty much mostly deal with lost passports to get people home anyways
Not just lost passports. Plenty of expats living abroad who either don’t want to or can’t get citizenship in the country they’re residing in so they need a way to renew passports/drivers licenses and request official documents.
I’m in China and I still plan to get one. Had my passport lost by a visa agent once before. Even if the card itself won’t do anything in China, it will at least help prove who I am to the embassy in case I ever find myself in the same situation.
have your say