I'm Irish and there's an option of getting an EU passport card. It does seem like a gimmick though as it costs €35, only lasts for 5 years and have heard only allows travel between EU/EEA/EFTA member states.
I take it that I can't use the card for travelling to the U.S. or Canada?
As you state in the question, it's only valid in EU/EEA/EFTA countries, so no you can't use it for travel anywhere else. I don't think it's a gimmick though. If you do a lot of regular travel within Europe, it's more convenient to carry around than a passport. Of course if you don't then it's probably not worth getting.
It's not a replacement for a passport, in fact you must first have a valid Irish passport before you can be issued with a Passport Card. It serves as a valid ID document in the EU/EEA. Note that in some countries you are required to carry identification - this card is a good substitute for carrying your passport.
But as shown here, you do need a rather large pocket for it.
Where can you use it
It is valid for travel to all EU Member States, the members of the EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway), Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It is recognised as a valid travel document by relevant national authorities.
Countries
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway and Switzerland.
Can an Irish passport card be used for travel outside Europe?
Wikipedia suggests you can use the Irish passport card to enter the island of Montserrat but only in transit to another country. I don't know how realistic this scenario is (transit from where to where? And how would you enter that country?) but that's one territory outside Europe.
I take it that I can't use the card for travelling to the U.S. or Canada?
That's correct. You do need to take your passport with you for that.
[…] have heard only allows travel between EU/EEA/EFTA member states.
It's a little broader than that as it is also accepted in a number of Balkan countries that are not a member of the EU, EEA, or EFTA but that's still no more than 40 countries, all located in Europe. Whether that's more or less valuable to you than entry to the US and Canada will depend on your personal circumstances. I know I am crossing European borders every month and I have never been more than twice a year to the US.
However, I think all this misses a big use case for the Irish passport card: residing elsewhere in the EU. As an Irish citizen, you are entitled to do that without having to secure a residence permit. As some EU countries require everybody to carry some officially sanctioned ID document or rely on those extensively in daily life, having a card you can put in a wallet can be more convenient than carrying a passport booklet every day. On the other hand, for the occasional vacation, it might not be worth the trouble.
I asked exactly the same question a few years ago.
Since then, I have used it many times within the EU. I like that I can easily carry it in my wallet and hence I can pop over to another country any time that I feel like it (well, I could prior to Covid). A few countries beyond the EU and EEA will accept it but primarily it is an EU document. I would check carefully before relying on it to enter a non-EU/EEA country as I expect that the rules could change. A downside is that it does not work in the automated passport gates or many self-check-in terminals.
One use that I have not attempted yet is entering the UK after Brexit. I remember in the days before computers (I am old) that, when I entered the UK with an Irish passport, I would be looked up in a large book (The A to Z of terrorists, I expect). The only exception was when I entered just after my sister. I guess that there was no entry for our surname and he did not have to check me.
Once, in Amsterdam I was rushing for a connection and I joined a priority queue. My need to use the queue was questioned. I explained my short connection time. This was accepted but the official said: why not use the automated gates as there is no queue. I explained that I was using a passport card. He was surprised, he did not know that Irish passport cards existed.
For use within an EU country, e.g. checking into a hotel or renting a car, it hs always been immediately accepted without any query.
It's often necessary to provide ID in situations where one wouldn't necessarily want to use a passport. The ID card is better for everyday situations because:
In addition to this, the ID card is invaluable when you have to send a passport in the post to confirm your identity (for example if you apply for an Irish passport for your child). You still retain a fully functioning valid form of ID in case you need it.
There's no "EU passport" -- member states of the EU share a common format (color etc), but it is still a national passport.
As for "only allows travel between EU/EEA/EFTA member states" -- that's nonsense, rather the opposite is true:
A) citizens of the member states do not need a passport at all to travel to other member states
B) inside the Schengen area there are no border controls (time limited exceptions possible, for example during the pandemic)
C) as a citizen of an EU member state you may not even need a passport to most destinations at all
So, whether you should apply for a passport depends on your destination.
USA at least require a valid passport.
