[Article] Dempsey to bring in microchip driving licence

Sulmac

Dempsey to bring in microchip driving licence

DAVID LABANYI

Mon, Dec 28, 2009

A NEW credit card-style driving licence containing a chip that holds information about the driver is to be introduced over the next year or so, according to Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey.

He said the Road Safety Authority was examining how this could be achieved.

“There is work ongoing on this, and I am looking at trying, within the next 12 to 18 months, to introduce the plastic credit card-type licence with a microchip,” he told The Irish Times.

The cards will hold a photo; the driver’s name, address, date of birth, class of licence, and details of the issuing authority. It will also carry a record of any penalty points on the driver’s record.

Mr Dempsey said the new format would address a number of security and enforcement issues, particularly fake licences and the fact that a garda stopping a motorist does not know from an examination of the driver’s licence whether they are disqualified.

The new licences will have additional security features not available on the paper licence to make counterfeiting more difficult.

Mr Dempsey suggested the issuing of licences might be centralised into one licensing authority in a further effort to improve security.

“If you want to tighten up security, do you maintain the system where licences are issued by 33 or 34 local authorities around the country or do you move to a system that is centralised and has a very tight control on the cards that are issued and that all of the data is contained in one place?

“I strongly believe we need to introduce the card and streamline the system to make it more secure,” he said.

The changes are part of a European project to introduce a credit card-style driving licence by the start of 2013 to assist cross-border policing of motoring offences. These will be mutually recognised by member states.

Mr Dempsey said he wants to introduce the system “well before that deadline”.

The new cards will have the capacity to carry a thumbprint or an eyeprint if the EU decides to introduce biometric security features, Mr Dempsey added.

The Republic and Northern Ireland aim to mutually recognise driving disqualifications for reckless or dangerous driving, hit-and-runs, drink-driving and speeding from early next year.

Ministers in both jurisdictions are also working on a way to apply penalty points to holders of a licence issued outside the country where the offence took place, although this is a longer-term project.

Mr Dempsey also said he would look at incorporating the new licences with a social welfare card where appropriate. “I am also interested in whether or not we can include information about whether people want to be organ donors, although there are complications with that,” he said.

© 2009 The Irish Times

Finally.

I presume they'll look something like this.

amacachi

Just hope it doesn't look like this.

Run_to_da_hills

Not a great fan of smartcards but at least these wont disintegrate in your pocket like the old ones.

Absurdum

to be introduced over the next year or so

lol

Chris_533976

I hope they do this because the licences get squashed horribly in my wallet. Then it looks like its been tampered with because the solid photo causes creasing that makes it look like its been replaced.

manutd

It's about time something like this comes in, but saying that i cannot see them in 18 months.

Also, what will it cost for one of these and i say that it will do for the length of your driving times, like if you get a learn permit and pass your test they will update your card on the chip.

Chris Peak

Chris_533976 wrote: »

I hope they do this because the licences get squashed horribly in my wallet. Then it looks like its been tampered with because the solid photo causes creasing that makes it look like its been replaced.

Why not take a colour photo-copy of it with you? All the relevant info will be there for inspection, and the original wont get destroyed or possibly lost. It's what I've done since a recommendation from an AGS Sergeant.

D'Peoples Voice

Absurdum wrote: »

lol

http://archives.tcm.ie/sligoweekender/2002/12/04/story10078.asp
Wednesday, December 04, 2002 :
[Transport Seamus Brennan] he expects his handy ‘credit card’ style, wallet-fitting driving licences to be made available in the early part of the year.

I was told the civil service wanted a pay increase, above that given under benchmarking, to implement this system at the time, so it was deferred!
So in my opinion there is not a hope in hell of this credit card style driving licence being introduced unless Lenihan reverses the nominal pay cuts of December 2009.

_michelle_

this is a great idea, save on them getting damaged & so on (most eu countries have so i think its long overdue) they will probably cast a forutne though knowing our government :rolleyes:

Run_to_da_hills

_michelle_ wrote: »

they will probably cast a forutne though knowing our government :rolleyes:

They will just charge more for them. sorted.

AlekSmart

Top Man D`Peoples Voice for remembering the same oul bluster being spouted by Seamus Brennan......and what have we to show for that

????So in my opinion there is not a hope in hell of this credit card style driving licence being introduced unless Lenihan reverses the nominal pay cuts of December 2009.

Pigs Flying at 1500 feet !!!

BrianD

Sounds more like an ID card than a drivers licence the way it's being linked into the social welfare system.

I'd be keen to know if this licence is going to contain a RFID chip that will transmit. This means that your licence detail could be read without the owner being aware that this is happening.

Run_to_da_hills

BrianD wrote: »

Sounds more like an ID card than a drivers licence the way it's being linked into the social welfare system.

I'd be keen to know if this licence is going to contain a RFID chip that will transmit. This means that your licence detail could be read without the owner being aware that this is happening.

There is already a thread in the CT forum on this.

L1011

BrianD wrote: »

Sounds more like an ID card than a drivers licence the way it's being linked into the social welfare system.

Driving licences have been linked to the PPS numbers (which aren't social welfare numbers anymore) for new applicants for quite a while; I'd expect some journalistic licence has turned this in to "combined with social welfare cards" in the article.

Of course, "you can't get the dole without having a full driving licence" would cut costs for a while!

TheNog

Chris Peak wrote: »

Why not take a colour photo-copy of it with you? All the relevant info will be there for inspection, and the original wont get destroyed or possibly lost. It's what I've done since a recommendation from an AGS Sergeant.

That AGS sergeant is wrong, so wrong. A copy will not show any of the security features a real DL will show and for me would definitely not be acceptable at the roadside. Current Road Traffic Acts does not allow for a copy of a DL to be produced as a valid DL.

D'Peoples Voice wrote: »

I was told the civil service wanted a pay increase, above that given under benchmarking, to implement this system at the time, so it was deferred!
So in my opinion there is not a hope in hell of this credit card style driving licence being introduced unless Lenihan reverses the nominal pay cuts of December 2009.

If thats true I say bollix to that. Implement a new and efficient practice for gods sake without the union bull****.

AlekSmart wrote: »

Pigs Flying at 1500 feet !!!

Air Support? :D

Aidan1

I was told the civil service wanted a pay increase, above that given under benchmarking, to implement this system at the time, so it was deferred

Not true.

This was announced previously, out of the blue, as part of a political solo run. There were no resources associated with it, and the first time the Department of Transport were even aware of it was when it appeared in the papers. There were no staff or resources available to do it.

I'd imagine that it was pointed out to the Minister that the Department was charged with delivering the €34bn Transport 21 programme with not one additional staff person*. And other bits he wanted to add to that were probably left up to him to resource.

*The Department did get to hire a professional economist for a while, but he's no longer there.

litmus paper

wats wrong with id cards they are better than carrying around age card , driving licenses etc. the only problem people will have with id cards are people who do something wrong. id cards are common in pakistan and india for the last 60 odd years. and in many other asian countries.

L1011

litmus paper wrote: »

wats wrong with id cards they are better than carrying around age card , driving licenses etc. the only problem people will have with id cards are people who do something wrong. id cards are common in pakistan and india for the last 60 odd years. and in many other asian countries.

Entirely untrue.

ID cards are effectively unheard of in first world English speaking countries. We just don't do them. The instant you introduce ID cards you risk turning in to a "papers please" society, where any arm of the state can harrass you should they happen to take a dislike to you.

As goes the "if you've done nothing wrong, you've got nothing to fear" crap, I presume you wouldn't mind if we put a Garda CCTV camera in to your bedroom then? Sure, you'd only be against it if you do something wrong... :rolleyes:

crocro

D'Peoples Voice wrote: »

I was told the civil service wanted a pay increase, above that given under benchmarking, to implement this system at the time, so it was deferred!
So in my opinion there is not a hope in hell of this credit card style driving licence being introduced unless Lenihan reverses the nominal pay cuts of December 2009.

Vehicle and driver testing have been outsourced so why not driver licensing? I gather IBM does the driver licences in the UK. It's not exactly rocket science.

L1011

Driver testing outsourcing has ended...

BigDuffman

Outstanding..in the last 6 months gripes that I've had for years are being addressed! The first is post codes.

Second is the parchment that you have to produce when asked for your licence. The look on the faces of people in different countries when you present a pink manuscript thats disheveled and looks like a 4 year old made it is priceless!

"Or so" meaning once the committee deciding on the proposition of a sub comitee to discuss the possibility of the colour get their finger out! 5 years maybe?

dowlingm

I don't worry so much about the ID thing - guards can demand your identity, hell even LUAS inspectors can.

What I worry about is a government that gave us evoting embarking on another expensive IT project. Accenture, IBM et al are probably rubbing their hands...

Ontario Driving Licence:


Ontario Enhanced RFID Licence (can be used to cross into US)
http://www.news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2009/05/about-ontarios-enhanced-drivers-licence.html

Ontario Health Card:

litmus paper

MYOB wrote: »

Entirely untrue.

ID cards are effectively unheard of in first world English speaking countries. We just don't do them. The instant you introduce ID cards you risk turning in to a "papers please" society, where any arm of the state can harrass you should they happen to take a dislike to you.

As goes the "if you've done nothing wrong, you've got nothing to fear" crap, I presume you wouldn't mind if we put a Garda CCTV camera in to your bedroom then? Sure, you'd only be against it if you do something wrong... :rolleyes:

ye si would mind having a cctv camera in my bedroom as that is a voilation of my right to privacy under article 40.3.1 of constitution. but id cards are better if you need to open any bank accounts where one might use drivers license.

foggy_lad

this awful government are still dragging their heels about providing a similar card as a free travel pass for those eligible for free travel even though such a move would prevent millions of euros worth of fraudulant use of the old travel passes which according to prime time's recent investigative report can be bought illegally for as little as €100 to give unlimited travel. so providing this card for driving licences will be years away not 12 or even 18months

AlekSmart

This was announced previously, out of the blue, as part of a political solo run. There were no resources associated with it, and the first time the Department of Transport were even aware of it was when it appeared in the papers. There were no staff or resources available to do it.

The late Seamus Brennan was particularly fond of "reading the mood" of meetings or functions and developed a propensity for "Announcing" new stuff.

This type of stunt could usually be spotted by the incredulous looks on the mugs of the usual group of Departmental people sitting with or near the Great Man,none of whom ever had the nerve to say..."But Minister,you`ve got no clothes on".

Instead many of his greatest announcements were quietly alowed to wither away and die,and better still he usually forgot about them after the next day`s papers had been read.

Noel Dempsey ain`t no Seamus Brennan,that`s for sure,so when he makes such an announcement you can be fairly certain there is a "Preferred Tenderer" lurking about in the pits....as another poster pointed out already,keep your eyes open for a passing IT or Toll Collection associated company who just so happen to have a few spare Driving Licence template programmes to hand..

dowlingm

Yeah, Brennan was the guy who fcuked peak time commuters by letting the free travel folks have access to those services. But old people vote and that's what counts!

Cookie_Monster

OT: Calvin L Gluck

LOL, what a name

L1011

litmus paper wrote: »

ye si would mind having a cctv camera in my bedroom as that is a voilation of my right to privacy under article 40.3.1 of constitution. but id cards are better if you need to open any bank accounts where one might use drivers license.

And providing an ID which any jumped up johnny minor public servant can demand to see because they know you have to carry it is an invasion of privacy also.

You fail to get my analogy completely. If you think the only people opposed to compulsary ID cards are those with something to hide, you must have something to hide if you don't want Garda CCTV in your house, mustn't you.

L1011

BigDuffman wrote: »

The look on the faces of people in different countries when you present a pink manuscript thats disheveled and looks like a 4 year old made it is priceless!

That happens in the US and nowhere else really - our driving licence complies to the EU model. The old EU model, admittedly; but half the countries in Europe (and some that still aren't in the EU, like Croatia) have issued identical tri-fold pink paper licences in the past.

D'Peoples Voice

Aidan1 wrote: »

Not true.

This was announced previously, out of the blue, as part of a political solo run. There were no resources associated with it, and the first time the Department of Transport were even aware of it was when it appeared in the papers. There were no staff or resources available to do it.

I thought what you are saying was the PR given out at the time,
there was no issues with staffing numbers,
the same employees in the Ballina office that issue the current driving licence would handle the issuing of the new style driving licence,

The design of the new driving licence would be outsourced so as to benefit from the experience and knowledge earned in other jurisdictions.

As for managing the budget of , the RPA, NRA and CIE et al were given greater responsibilities of budget making within their own area with the introduction of rolling budgets.

But thats just what I heard.

Alun

MYOB wrote: »

That happens in the US and nowhere else really - our driving licence complies to the EU model. The old EU model, admittedly; but half the countries in Europe (and some that still aren't in the EU, like Croatia) have issued identical tri-fold pink paper licences in the past.

Yes, I still have a Dutch licence like that that doesn't expire until June next year.