IRELAND has shelved plans to introduce biometric chips to passports amid expectations that America will relax demands for their introduction.

The US Department of Homeland Security wanted the chips installed by October in passports of European citizens who can travel to America for short-term visits without a visa. Biometric chips are capable of holding various biographical information on people such as their finger prints, facial dimensions, and even scans of their irises.

While they make it easier to track terrorists or criminals, their introduction was opposed by members of civil liberty groups who argued it would be an unacceptable intrusion on privacy.

Following discussions with European commission representatives, the American Congress may revise the Patriot Act, passed in the wake of the September 11 attacks, to allow holders of passports with digital photos to avail of the visa-waiver scheme.

A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said: “We are working with Congress on this issue. There has been no formal decision and we are still working towards the October deadline as required. It is something that the department is giving advice to Congress on at the moment.”

European officials believe the Americans have taken on board concerns that the move would put a break on transatlantic travel.

A spokesman for the department of foreign affairs said: “The position that we are aware of is that there may be an evolution in US thinking on the requirement for biometric-chip passports and that the new Irish passport, which has a very secure digitised photograph, but no biometric chip, may be accepted.

“Pending further clarification of the US position, which recognises the technical challenges of using biometrics in passports, we are not proceeding with the incorporation of a microchip in our new passport. We will, however, continue to follow developments in this area very closely and we will be ready to move when the time is right,” he added.

Congress passed legalisation in 2002 that required the 27 countries in the visa-waiver programme to start issuing high-technology passports by October last year. The deadline was then extended for a year, with the European Union initially looking for a further extension till August 2006 before the latest developments.

Irish civil rights groups said that any change of position by the American administration would be welcome. Ashling Reidy, director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, said there were a number of concerns, largely around privacy issues, and of the incorporation of biometric data into passports.

“There were questions about who exactly would get access to the data. The US does not have as strict data protection laws as we do in Europe. There was potential this could be shared with a wide range of agencies in the states down to local sheriffs and not just used to confirm it was the correct person on the passport,” she said.

“Assessments of the use of biometric chips did not show it had a great role in preventing terrorism as alleged and was open to wide misuse,” she added.

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