KPMG will be the prime contractor for the project and will integrate the technologies and expertise required to supply and implement the automated passport system.
People should be able to apply for their passports online in the Republic from 2004 following a decision by the Department of Foreign Affairs to introduce an automated passport system worth about €10 million.
The Department, which first issued a public tender for the high-tech system in August 2001, had entered exclusive negotiations with KPMG Consulting and was expected to sign a contract within weeks, sources said yesterday.
This system will centralise passport production and enable the capture and processing of passport application data over the internet, although full online applications will not go live until early 2004.
Irish passports and the necessary application forms will also be redesigned by the contractor for the automated process, which is intended to generate greater efficiencies at the Passport Office.
The decision to proceed with the online passport project follows a lengthy delay. The tender initially set a start date of November 1st, 2001, with full installation by December 2002.
During the first phase of the project, KPMG will build a huge database to log all the application data received from the Department. It will also design and assist the Passport Office in implementing the required work processes that will underpin the new technologies.
The Passport Office receives a minimum of 10,000 passport applications per month and this jumps to about 50,000 per month during the summer. The tender document says any new system should reduce the cost of producing a passport, reduce the time to process an application and increase the security of the process.
The new system will implement a booklet personalisation solution based on laser-engraving technology. Laser engraving involves embedding the photograph, signature and personal details text within the polycarbonate data page, rather than printed on top of the page, as is done at present.
The new method involves no lamination and would make the task of replacing or modifying a passport photograph or other part of the data page significantly more difficult for the potential forger.
The system may be able to affix bar-coded labels on each booklet as an effective means of subsequent passport booklet tracking, prior to postage to the applicant.
There has recently been criticism of the security surrounding the issuing of Irish passports abroad. It is envisaged that Irish embassies or consulates will no longer produce hand-written passports once the new system is running.
The passports will be compatible with biometric technologies in case the Government decides to introduce these features to passports in the future for added security, or to comply with regulations introduced by other states.
President Bush recently signed legislation that will require all citizens of foreign countries who do not need visas to enter the US to embed a microchip containing biometric data into their passports.
The Government here has confirmed it was studying the US Administration's decision and had established a biometric task force to evaluate the new technologies.
The system will be compatible with the Government's Reach project - a public services broker to facilitate citizens' interaction with public agencies online. This project will create a broker that stores customers' personal details and credit card numbers to enable people to undertake transactions. It is envisaged citizens will use their personal public services (PPS) number (formerly known as PRSI numbers) as an identifier to apply for a range of public services, including the new passports.
This move could hit An Post's revenues as it currently processes the payments for most passports.
