Northern Ireland is developing a smart card for use across schools, libraries, leisure services and transport, according to an official contract notice.
The administration's Central Procurement Directorate has selected IT supplier Cara Group to develop and implement the smart card scheme with work scheduled to begin in September 2005. A pilot for the scheme involving over 6,000 pupils is operating in post-primary schools in the region, with the cards being used for accessing a variety of services.
A spokesperson for Northern Ireland's Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister told Government Computing News on 18 August 2005 that the project is still in its early stages.
"It's been running on a trial basis but it hasn't gone live yet," the spokesperson said. "The next stages are that the pilot work will be evaluated and then we will make a decision as to how we are taking it forward."
Quelle: KableNET, 18.08.2005