Irish passports (Irish: Pas) are issued by the Consular and Passport Division, Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland. The Department of Foreign Affairs (An Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha) is the government department of the Irish government that is responsible for promoting the interests of Ireland in the European Union and the wider world. ...

Design

The front cover of a current Irish biometric passport.

Irish passports use the standard EU design, with a machine-readable identity page and 32, 48 or 64 visa pages. The identity page on older Irish passports was on the back cover of the booklet and the holder's personal details were also handwritten (although such passports have not been produced since 2004). Newly-issued passports have been redesigned with additional security features. The identity page is now a plastic card attached between the front cover and the first visa page. The cover bears the harp, the national symbol of Ireland, along with the words "An tAontas Eorpach" (English: European Union) and "Éire" (English: Ireland). The passport includes the following inscription, in Irish and English: Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1064x1484, 288 KB) The cover of Irish electronic Passports as of late 2006 This image is of a book cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned either by the artist who created the cover or the publisher of... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1064x1484, 288 KB) The cover of Irish electronic Passports as of late 2006 This image is of a book cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned either by the artist who created the cover or the publisher of... Image of an entry visa valid in Schengen treaty countries. ... Republic of Ireland Coat of Arms The coat of arms of Ireland is blazoned as azure a harp or, stringed argent - a gold harp with silver strings on a blue background. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Iarrann Aire Gnóthaí Eachtracha na hÉireann ar gach n-aon lena mbaineann ligean dá shealbhóir seo, saoránach d'Éirinn, gabháil ar aghaidh gan bhac gan chosc agus gach cúnamh agus caomhnú is gá a thabhairt don sealbhóir.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ireland requests all whom it may concern to allow the bearer, a citizen of Ireland, to pass freely and without hindrance and to afford the bearer all necessary assistance and protection.

The ePassport or biometric passport, was launched on October 16, 2006 with the first ePassports presented that day by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The project was completed within budget and time^[1]. Symbol for biometric passports, usually printed on the cover of the passports A biometric passport is a combined paper and electronic identity document that uses biometrics to authenticate the citizenship of travelers. ... The Minister for Foreign Affairs is the senior minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs (An Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha) in the Irish Government. ...

Security features

The latest Irish passports have a number of security features to make them difficult to forge or be mistaken as forgeries. They have also been optimised for machine reading.

The identity page of the passport has been moved to the front of the passport, and is now printed on a plastic card. This allows easier machine reading of the passport, as less time has to be spent by an official finding the identity page in the passport. The top-right corner of the passport contains the biometric chip, which contains a copy of the information contained on the identity page. At Walt Disney World, biometric measurements are taken from the fingers of guests to ensure that the persons ticket is used by the same person from day to day. ...

The title of the identity page "Éire/Ireland/Irlande" "Pas/Passport/Passeport" is printed in colour-changing ink, which varies from light green to gold-red, depending on the angle of the light shining on it. The background of the identity page is a complex celtic design, with the words "Éire Ireland" occasionally woven into the design. Muiredacha Cross. ...

The identity picture is now grayscale, and is digitally printed onto the surface of the page, rather than the actual photos sent by the applicant being pasted onto the page. The Irish harp is superimposed as a hologram onto the bottom right corner of the photograph. The words "Éire Ireland" are embossed several times into either side of the identity page. This embossing partially covers the photograph as an added security measure. A likeness of the photograph of the applicant is pin-punched into the surface of the identity page, and can be viewed when the identity page is held to light. In computing, a grayscale or greyscale digital image is an image in which the value of each pixel is a single sample. ... Republic of Ireland Coat of Arms The coat of arms of Ireland is blazoned as azure a harp or, stringed argent - a gold harp with silver strings on a blue background. ...

Lack of Shielding

The Irish biometric passport (ePassport) contains an unshielded RFID chip that can be remotely read from up to nine metres. The Department of Foreign Affairs has no plans to introduce a shield into Irish passports which would only allow reading of the passport when it is open (as has been done in the US and other countries^[2][3][4]). A shield prevents third parties from accessing personal data for identity theft or other illegal purposes, a practice known as skimming ^[5]. Criminals could access the names, digital photos and passport numbers without even coming into contact with the passport owner. The Irish ePassport uses Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology to prevent the chip from being altered and accessed^[6]. However, concerns have been raised about the security of PKI technology ^[7]. The Irish passport will use a type of PKI known as Basic Access Control (BAC) developed by BearingPoint, the vunerability of BAC was illustrated when a Dutch passport using the same RFID tag and encryption was hacked in only two hours ^[8][9]. Symbol for biometric passports, usually printed on the cover of the passports A biometric passport is a combined paper and electronic identity document that uses biometrics to authenticate the citizenship of travelers. ... Symbol for biometric passports, usually printed on the cover of the passports A biometric passport is a combined paper and electronic identity document that uses biometrics to authenticate the citizenship of travelers. ... An EPC RFID tag used for Wal-Mart Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. ... The Department of Foreign Affairs (An Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha) is the government department of the Irish government that is responsible for promoting the interests of Ireland in the European Union and the wider world. ... BearingPoint, Inc. ...

A shield would consist of a piece woven metal and not need to be larger than a few cm² and would thus be very low cost^[10].

Rights to a passport

Main article: Irish nationality law

Irish passports may be issued to individuals holding Irish nationality; the Republic of Ireland extends its nationality law to Northern Ireland. Irish nationality law is the law of the Republic of Ireland governing citizenship. ... Motto:  (Latin for Who will separate us?)[1] Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (de facto), Ulster Scots, Irish3, Northern Ireland Sign Language, Irish Sign Language Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of...

All Irish citizens have a constitutional right to an Irish passport, subject to certain limitations^[11]. Passports are generally valid for 10 years; children may apply for 3- or 5-year passports (depending on their age).

References

1. ^ Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern TD, Launches new ePassport, 16th October 2006
2. ^ The Register, Irish passports go RFID, and naked
3. ^ Washington Post: Security Concerns Prompt Passport Redesign
4. ^ US State Department Passport FAQs
5. ^ Sunday Times (Irish Edition): ‘Terror risk’ for electronic passport
6. ^ Department of Foreign Affairs - ePassport FAQs
7. ^ http://www.schneier.com/paper-pki.pdf Ellison and Schneider "Ten Risks of PKI: What You’re not Being Told about Public Key Infrastructure" Computer Security Journal Volume XVI, Number 1, 2000
8. ^ Global RFID Passport Encryption standard hacked within two hours by a Dutch company
9. ^ Terrorists Chip In
10. ^ New Scientist: "Metal shields and encryption for US passports"
11. ^ Department of Foreign Affairs - Issue of Passports to Irish Citizens

External links

• Republic of Ireland Department of Foreign Affairs Passport Office
• Two Examples of an Irish Passport - PDF Document]