US embassy cable - 05DUBLIN1379

UNCLAS DUBLIN 001379 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: CVIS, CMGT, PGOV, PREL, KFRD 
SUBJECT:  IRELAND'S PROGRESS ON TRAVEL DOCUMENT SECURITY 
 
REF:  STATE 203819 
 
1. (U) Summary.  Cons Chief met with Irish Assistant 
Secretary for Consular Affairs Ray Bassett to deliver a 
 
SIPDIS 
white paper on the 2004 VWP Review as per reftel and engaged 
in a lengthy discussion on Irish plans to upgrade the state 
of travel document security.  With Ireland the 14th ranked 
country in terms of non-immigrant admissions to the U.S., 
efforts to tighten up passport security here have a direct 
impact on U.S. national security.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) On November 8, Cons Chief met with Irish Assistant 
Secretary for Consular Affairs Ray Bassett.  The main 
 
SIPDIS 
purpose of the meeting was to deliver a white paper 
detailing the release of the 2004 Visa Waiver Program 
Country Reviews by DHS as pertaining to Ireland.  The report 
was well received and gave Cons Chief and A/S Bassett the 
opportunity to discuss current plans by the GOI to upgrade 
the integrity of its travel documents and to better regulate 
their use.  Given the large numbers of visitors to the 
United States entering on Irish passports, this is welcome 
news. 
 
3. (U) According to DHS records, there were 428,209 non- 
immigrant admissions of Irish citizens into the United 
States in FY-2004, making Ireland the 14th ranked country in 
terms of admissions to the U.S.  Of this figure, 
approximately 320,000 entered under terms of the Visa Waiver 
Program.  In addition, between 1991 and 2004, a total of 
34,504 Irish-born people became U.S. citizens through 
naturalization.  As Ireland's economy has boomed in recent 
years and the level of immigration has increased 
dramatically, Irish citizenry is no longer restricted to 
those whose roots are deep in the Emerald Isle.  It is not 
unusual to see Irish citizens born in Africa, Asia, and the 
Near East.  Also, approximately 30,000 Irish passports are 
issued each year to residents of Northern Ireland (this 
number is expected to grow to around 50,000 per year). 
Because of all of this, it is clearly in the U.S. national 
interest that the Irish passport scheme is a secure one. 
 
4. (U) A/S Bassett told Cons Chief that the very day of our 
meeting the GOI was preparing to announce the launch of the 
new biometric Irish passport.  In essence, this will merely 
require the insertion of the biometric chip into the current 
passport, which was introduced last year with the biometric 
requirements in mind.  The same firm, SDU of the 
Netherlands, will be developing the chip.  A/S Bassett 
estimates that full implementation could begin in as little 
as nine months, meaning that Ireland would be well within 
the October 2006 deadline. 
 
5. (SBU) A major loophole in Irish law has been that there 
are no real penalties on the use of fraudulent documents to 
get into Ireland.  Anecdotally, we have heard that this fact 
makes Ireland particularly attractive to fraudulent asylum 
seekers, as the repercussions for travel here on bogus 
documentation are far less severe than in other countries. 
This legal loophole provided a significant amount of comfort 
to the "Colombia Three," the IRA members accused of 
assisting the FARC and who escaped Colombian custody, 
fleeing to Ireland on allegedly false documents.  This case 
was a sort of wake-up call to this notable gap in Irish 
legislation.  As a result, the GOI is currently drafting 
legislation that would provide criminal penalties for the 
use of false documentation and are looking to British models 
for insight.  A/S Bassett said that he hopes this 
legislation could be introduced by this coming spring. 
 
6.(SBU) A/S Bassett said that Ireland is now beginning to 
take seriously the issue of lost and stolen passports and is 
developing a mechanism whereby that information would be 
passed to the Embassy as it becomes available.  In addition, 
they are hoping to be able to begin providing lost and 
stolen passport information to their visa officers in the 
field, something that is not currently done. 
 
7. (U) Comment.  Ireland appears to be making a serious 
effort to bring its consular operations in line with 
European and worldwide norms.  Its history, until recently, 
as a net exporter of immigrants, caused it to focus on these 
issues far later than many other countries, but it has been 
able to benefit from their experience in this area to try to 
adopt the most effective new technologies, especially as 
regarding its new passport.  End Comment. 
 
KENNY