Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Local authorities, in their capacity as registration authorities, are responsible for the management and maintenance of the electoral register. It is the duty of each authority to ensure, as far as possible, and with the cooperation of the public, the accuracy and completeness of the Register. The changes to the Electoral Acts and the registration process in 2022 facilitated enhanced public engagement with the register to make it easier for people to register or update their details when necessary.

Since the changes came into effect in October 2022, there has been significant activity by local authorities, supported by three national awareness campaigns, to improve data quality and engage the public in checking and updating the register. In each of the years 2023 and 2024, €1.7m has been made available to local authorities specifically for data quality work on the electoral register.

To date, more than 362,000 applications had been received through the online portals of checktheregister.ie and Voter.ie, and over 176,000 of these were received between January and 20 February this year.

By the end of December 2023 some 5% of the electorate nationally had a PPSN linked to their record. This means that those electors have had an identity data check carried out – a significant first step in what will be an ongoing process. Continued public engagement, including notifying local authorities of updates in relation to each of our own entries on the register, or using the third party form, available on checktheregister.ie, to propose other updates or amendments, where appropriate, will be critical in this regard.

Procurement is also underway for a national electoral registration system, which will build on the Voter.ie system currently used by the Dublin local authorities. The new system will bring a number of further improvements and efficiencies for the management of the register by local authorities as well as improving standardisation of data management processes and enhancing overall data security.

To ensure that the overall integrity of the register continues to improve over time, An Coimisiún Toghcháin has been given an oversight role in relation to the Electoral Register. Local authorities are required to report annually on the work they are doing to ensure a complete and accurate register. Each year, the Commission will publish a report setting out any research it has carried out and its assessment of the status and functioning of the electoral register as well as any recommendations that the Commission considers necessary to maintain and enhance the integrity of the electoral register and the registration process.