"The traditional view was that ID cards were a non-runner but the number of pressures now, including voter fraud, identify theft and a greater movement of people in the EU, means a debate should take place. This issue has been raised by my colleague Aidan Cullhane, a councillor in Dublin, and I have an open mind on the issue, " Howlin said.

The introduction of national identity cards has been mooted as one means of preventing widespread fraud through voter impersonation.

"ID cards won't solve the problems with the electoral register, but they may have a role in safeguarding against voter impersonation. They would certainly offer better protection than utility bills or passports which don't have addresses, " the Labour TD said.

Howlin also suggested that a cross-party approach would be the best way to proceed.

"The debate needs to take place within political circles, but also in wider society as well and we should also look at the experience of ID cards elsewhere, " he said.

Along with growing concern about potential voter fraud, the planned introduction of ID cards by the British government is also likely to add to pressure for their introduction in Ireland.

Last month, a spokeswoman for justice minister Michael McDowell told the Sunday Tribune the government would "monitor closely" the introduction of ID cards in Britain to see the potential implications of the measure for Ireland.

While McDowell has said that he has no plans to introduce ID cards here, many politicians believe that, because of the border with Northern Ireland and the common travel area between Ireland and the UK, the government will have to consider the option if they are introduced by the British government.

McDowell's spokeswoman said last month that, in terms of the potential impact for Ireland, a lot would depend on the type of ID card scheme introduced in Britain.