I wish the Uk and Irish governments would introduce National ID cards
Agreed. The problem isn't the ID cards themselves but the rules under which you would have to produce such a card, such as if a police officer stops you in the street and simply asks to see your card, should he have to suspect you've broken the law to have the right to see your card ? I still have that UK mentality of not carrying all my documentation on my person. I have a car with diplomatic number plates and I was stopped by the police about two weeks ago for a minor traffic offence (it's a myth that such number plates allow you to ignore traffic regulations) and I was asked to produce my driving license, insurance certificate and appropriate ID for driving a diplomatic vehicle and I was unable to produce any of them. I received a penalty and had to produce said docs in 24 hrs, if I hadn't been able to recite the number plate of the car from memory I suspect I would have been in serious trouble.
Some people object to ID cards on the grounds of data protection though you can rest assured that the govt. already has all your details (passport agency, DVLA,DVLC, National Insurance, Inland Revenue etc etc) and I'm sure it's shared via different agencies.
On the continent you have a legal responsibility to carry an ID card and if you're driving a car you have to carry a whole load of other documentation whereas in the UK you don't have to carry anything, even when driving. Changing peoples habits is going to be very difficult....