Passport cards that will allow Irish people to travel within the European Union will be ready to roll out from next month. The card will allow the holder to travel within the EU without having to carry a full passport..
Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has said that the delayed cards are now completed. The passport cards were originally intended to be made available in mid-July but a design issue saw the new initiative become delayed until October.
Mr Flanagan said he was planning to launch the cards in the next three weeks when speaking in Washington DC. At the time the department said that in order to “improve the durability of the card it was necessary to alter the polycarbonate structure of the card”. The cards took longer to manufacture than intended because of this.