I live in Spain and used to have an ID card (residence and work permit but a dinky little plastic card with my photo, date of birth, address and tax number). Now, because there has been such a lot of immigration and the system had virtually broken down, they have speeded things up by only issuing ID cards to Spanish Citizens (of course) and foreigners making their first application.
I am not a Spanish Citizen and I already had an ID card.
The last time I went to renew mine it was half an hour in a queue, 5 minutes with a clerk and only one visit. A tremendous advance.
One problem. No ID card any more for those renewing.
Just a flimsy sheet of paper which confirms those thing a passport doesn't - tax number principally. Seeing as by law some kind of ID must be carried by everyone at all times, I now have to carry my passport everywhere. Passports are bulky things. This pisses me off. :cry:
If I lived in the UK I'd say yes to ID cards.