Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Bill
9:45 am
Mr Des Browne (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Northern Ireland Office; Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Labour)
There must be something wrong with the way that I speak the language. I have said this now about 12 times—I may be wrong; it can be checked, but it is certainly a significant number of times. It is the Government's intention not to remove non-photographic forms of identification that are presently permitted until everyone has a passport or a driving licence with a photograph, or has had a reasonable opportunity to obtain a photographic identification card for election purposes, which will be provided free of charge. However, it is the Government's intention to remove all non-photographic forms of identification as soon as that time is reached, and before the election for the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2003.