Irish officials privately believed British government plans to introduce national ID cards in 2005 could lead to discrimination against Irish citizens in Northern Ireland and Britain.
The concerns over the plans are outlined in the latest tranche of State Papers released to the National Archives of Ireland. While not introduced then, the idea is now being revived by current British Prime Minister Kier Starmer.
The UK ID card plans, known in some quarters of the British media as "Brit cards", were put forward 20 years ago in a bid to help reduce the risk of terrorism, illegal migration, identity fraud and public administration issues.
However, they were criticised by social justice groups and some government officials as they could also complicate the century-old Common Travel Area (CTA) between Ireland and the UK.
While the plan was put forward in 2005 with related legislation being introduced in Britain the following year, the plan ran over-budget and was eventually cancelled when David Cameron's Conservative government came to power in summer 2010.
However, the idea has been revived by the British Labour government, with plans to introduce ID cards – commonly, but incorrectly, known as "Brit Cards" – before the next Westminster elections in 2029.
Concerned about the implications for, and the attitude of Dublin, British Home Office officials briefed the Department of Justice in Dublin and Irish Foreign Affairs officials throughout 2005.
Following this, the British side clarified that an ID card could be produced that would not include the holder's nationality, though it could not be used as a travel document within Europe.
"There may be some elements in the Irish community who will be reluctant for the British state to maintain information on them," a summary of a lengthy discussion between Irish officials noted.
"ID cards, for some who live through the 1970s and 1980s, will be objected to as a matter of principle and gut instinct, and it may prove difficult to persuade them otherwise. It is difficult to gauge the degree of opposition, or reluctance."
From the beginning, the Irish side had concerns that the ID cards could interfere with the rights offered by the 1998 Belfast Good Friday Agreement to people living in Northern Ireland to be Irish, British, or both.
However, in June 2005, British home office officials Trudy Payne and Stephen Harrison said obligations under the agreement had been met because NI residents "were free to designate themselves as Irish, British, or have no nationality listed".
"There may in the future be many more people claiming dual nationality than there are now" in Northern Ireland, the officials noted but added that an ID card without citizenship details "would be the obvious choice for them".
This last declaration prompted Foreign Affairs officials to wonder "if the option for people of Northern Ireland is to have 'British', or nothing in the nationality section" respected people's rights to identify as both.
Despite Irish concerns about the Common Travel Area, the British officials insisted that the cards "need not cause any difficulty for the CTA and suggested rather that it gave more options" for passengers.
By September 2005, the Home Office's Trudy Payne noted that the 7/7 July bombings had "stiffened resolve both for, and against" ID cards, noting Charles Clarke's comment that they would not have prevented the attack, since all involved were British-born.
[Based on document 2025/125/161]
Read more:
O'Neill says digital ID card scheme attack on Irish citizens in NI
UK voiced concerns over 'top man' in Northern Bank heist
