‘Poodle passports’ no badge of sovereignty
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
FOREIGN Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern is to introduce new offences relating to travelling on a false Irish passport.
However, typical of Fianna Fáil, he has also sneaked into this bill measures that will regulate the storage and use of biometric data collected by the Passport Office.
Under the US visa waiver programme, participating countries must move fully to biometric passports before October 26 next. Mr Ahern said he was confident that Ireland would meet the US deadline. What about our sovereignty?
Many European governments are resisting biometric passports because they see them as yet another attack on civil liberties.
But not our Government led by Fianna Fáil, the so-called republican party which is happy to be a US poodle.
Mr Ahern has also said that Irish passports produced before the October deadline would remain valid until they expired, but don’t be surprised if Fianna Fáil fabricates some excuse, such as they’re not fraud-proof, to get rid of them long before then.
Paul Kinsella
53 Lorcan Grove
Santry
Dublin 9