While justice minister Michael McDowell has consistently said that he has no plans to introduce ID cards here, many politicians believe that, given the border with Northern Ireland and the existence of a common travel area between Ireland and the UK, the government would have to consider the option if and when they are introduced by the British government.

The House of Lords last week dropped its resistance to the principle of ID cards, clearing the way for their introduction in the UK. The Lords accepted an offer from the Home Office that anyone applying for a new biometric passport before January 2010 could opt out of having an ID card.

A spokeswoman for McDowell said the minister had recently had discussions with British home secretary Charles Clarke and would be meeting him again shortly on the matter. In terms of the potential impact for Ireland, a lot would depend on the type of scheme that is introduced in Britain, the spokeswoman added.