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For the smart card technology to work, it must be backed up by fingerprint and eye-scanners in banks, shops, estate agents, hotels, and public services such as hospitals. To check your identity they in turn must have 24hr access to the National Identity Register (NIR). Every time the card is used, information about when, where, and how it was used is stored on the database in the form of an audit log.

The new cards contain an embedded microchip, which stores the bearer's information electronically.

The cards were designed to hold personal biometric data on an encrypted chip, including name, a photograph and fingerprints.

The supporting National Identity Register was designed to hold up to 50 pieces of information.

The ID-card scheme was launched in October 2009 but cancelled 16 months later and the database destroyed.