EU to grant funds for introduction of e-ID cards
The government has been unofficially informed that the European Union has accepted its request for funding to introduce electronic ID cards and barring unexpected hitches, the new system should be in place before the next general elections, Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt, who is also responsible for the public registry, said in parliament this evening.
Earlier this year, Dr Gatt explained that the validity of existing ID cards had been extended in order to allow more time for the launch of the nation-wide renewal of ID cards.
The minister said the electronic ID cards would mean greater security, not least because they would include more information on their owners, including fingerprints. The information would be stored on a chip in the card. Thus, it would be difficult to have a repetition of the recent case where an ID card was issued to the wrong person.
A ministry spokesman had also said that the ministry was working with De La Rue Ltd on a detailed implementation plan.
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Nik Xuereb Conti
May 26th 2010, 13:13
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biometric_passport
Here's an idea of what Biometrics is all about. If your passport was issued after 2008 then is it Biometric and there's a little RF Chip in there broadcasting your identity to the world. I'm sure that the fingerprints that will be collected for the ID cards will be copied to the passports. The next step is definately going to be a pupil (iris) scan. Most of this biometric technology is being pushed by the USA and they claim (using the same old excuse) that is will keep us safe from "Terrorists".
lgalea
May 26th 2010, 11:51
Let's get out of this crap eu and stop being treated like animals.
Paul Farrugia
May 26th 2010, 11:49
The European Union wants to use us as guinea pigs so that of we accept such I.D. Cards with all this hidden information on them it will make a regulation making them obligatory in all the Member States. Rise up against this imposition.
Paul Caruana
May 26th 2010, 11:44
The EU Gulag Archipelago Архипелаг ГУЛАГ EU
Joe Gauci
May 26th 2010, 11:38
The name, address, Date of birth, blood type and ID Card number are enough. Stop BIG BROTHER EU from tagging us like animals.
Alex Borg
May 26th 2010, 11:23
I hope you do realize that these chips will have GPS on them which will therefore mean where going to be tag like dogs. Big Brother is upon us and we fail to see the bars in front of us. I for one am not getting a new ID.
Lawrence Martinelli
May 26th 2010, 11:15
The U.K. has no ID card......normal for such a tiny island.
Malta DOES need the most up-to-date fool-proof ID......
normal fro such a huge island ( sorry...5 islands ) ......
I am sure the E.U. will greedly help......Sheep MUST be led.
Lewis Balzan Pensioner
May 26th 2010, 09:59
I just like to know, i don't know the exact details, i also have a KART ANZJAN will it be included in the id details, as its always a hasstle carring both id's. THankyou
Godwin Debattista
May 26th 2010, 10:58
Godwin from down under, Well done Thea, you did your very best, good performance, but life never meant to be easy, we learn as we grow older, I read all the comments and I was shocked to learn that they spent 400,000 Euro !! that's $624.000, they could have fixed the fountain at Valletta and have some salt water running, I was there for 8 weeks and never seen it working, may be the angel had real feathers ha ha ha
EDWIN DE MARCO
May 26th 2010, 09:42
i think the photos on the new I.D. should be two. One full (nude) frontal & another of the back. That way there would be no mistake about what sex the indivual is. And how about putting in the e-mail address & mobile number of course. Still, better than my three-years old SKADUTA I.D.
Maria Vella
May 26th 2010, 09:02
Isn't all this information on an ID card breeching our privacy? Having our finger prints on an official document is treating us like criminals. Why do we always accept everything. on this island? I am not a law person but I do not think that my personal information should be lying around in the hands of some civil servant. There uis already enough of that going on
Ramon Casha
May 26th 2010, 10:47
This government has already ignored all questions and concerns raised about these ID cards. Did you really think that gonzipn cares about you or any other citizen?
T Camilleri
May 26th 2010, 11:15
Maria Vella You are right. For the eu everyone is a criminal. That's why they want our fingerprints on the id cards. What they are not saying is what other hidden information will be included on the chip. And they used to refer to the USSR's steel curtain! The EUSSR is much worse.
Nik Xuereb Conti
May 26th 2010, 07:25
"The minister said the electronic ID cards would mean greater security, not least because they would include more information on their owners, including fingerprints"
Here we go, E-Id... more security? Security for what? Ze "Terrorists"? What do they need our fingerprints for? Are we all criminals? People are being tagged down like animals. There was a time when we joked about people having RF chips implanted in their arm... anytime soon now if we keep being pushed towards this direction.
Invasion of privacy is an understatement at this point. Freedom has become an illusion.
Eric Gahn
May 26th 2010, 06:03
Why is the EU funding this?
Charles Sammut
May 26th 2010, 09:16
The EU will do anything to subjugate the sheeple.
As always, Malta must be more European than the EU and GonziPN rushes in where Cameron and Clegg fear to tread. The new UK government has already declared that ID cards will NOT be introduced in the country.
This is not acceptable whatever the lame assurances we will be given about data security bla bla bla....
Joseph Grech
May 25th 2010, 23:11
''Detailed implementation plan...'' Let's just keep our fingers crossed that there won't be yet another scandal in this enterprise. We have become quite used to that happening under this administration.