Mr. Barry Ryan:

I am joined this afternoon by my colleague, Ms Petra Woods, principal officer for the electoral registration modernisation project in the Department. It is good to have an opportunity to discuss various aspects of our electoral system with the committee today. Members will recall that when we were last before the committee late last year we highlighted that 2024 and 2025 would see the full suite of electoral events taking place in Ireland. Since that time, two referendums were held in March, and local elections, elections to the European Parliament and the election of a mayor in Limerick took place in June. As we know, a general election must take place in the next six months and a presidential election is due in autumn next year.

An important element of our electoral process is the electoral registration system. To improve the accuracy of the electoral register, the Electoral Reform Act 2022 introduced a number of new elements, one of which is the move to rolling registration, which allows the register to be updated throughout the year, on foot of action by local authorities on the ground, as well as on the basis of information and updates provided by individuals. Another central element is the introduction of an oversight role for An Coimisiún Toghcháin to improve the gathering of data on the register, to enable the sharing of best practice and to allow for recommendations to be made on potential improvements to processes and legislation. In concert, these reforms are intended to lead to a continuous cycle of improvement over time. In addition, the introduction of the use of personal public service numbers, PPSNs, in the process enables online engagement, improves the identification of duplicates and contributes to the timely removal of deceased people. Modernisation and the achievement of a more accurate register of electors is an ongoing process but progress has been made through a combination of public engagement campaigns, local authority efforts in their communities and the work done to date by An Coimisiún Toghcháin in promoting engagement with the electoral process.

Given the sensitivities around the integrity of elections it is important that we have a robust regime in place that will operate in tandem with, and complement, the regulatory landscape that has recently been put in place within the European Union to protect our elections and democratic institutions. Important measures introduced at European level include the introduction of the Digital Services Act, DSA, which has applied in full to all online platforms since February this year and the publication of European Commission guidelines, under Article 35 of the DSA, on the integrity of electoral processes. The strengthening of the code of practice on disinformation, which was agreed and introduced in 2022 on foot of detailed guidelines developed by the European Commission, is also of relevance. The code is signed by a broad range of actors including major online platforms. Finally, the EU regulation on the transparency and targeting of political advertising was adopted in March and has an 18-month implementation period.

The Electoral Reform Act 2022 sets out a comprehensive reform of Ireland’s electoral system, including the establishment of An Coimisiún Toghcháin. Work is continuing towards the commencement of Part 4 of the Act, which relates to the regulation of online paid political advertising during electoral periods and Part 5, which relates to the investigation and monitoring of online disinformation and misinformation and manipulative or inauthentic behaviour in respect of electoral processes during election campaign periods. In particular, Part 4 of the Act is being considered in light of the EU regulation on the transparency and targeting of political advertising which I just mentioned. The proposed amendments to Part 5 of the Act, which are aimed principally at ensuring alignment with the DSA, were formally notified to the European Commission in July, in accordance with TRIS requirements.

Subject to any views that emerge from the commission, the stand-still period under the notification procedure will end on 4 October.

It is worth noting that, in April 2024, An Coimisiún Toghcháin published a voluntary framework on online electoral process information, political advertising and deceptive AI content ahead of the local and European elections and in advance of Parts 4 and 5 of the Electoral Reform Act being commenced. It was developed in consultation with various stakeholders including Technology Ireland and applies to platforms, political parties and candidates with the aim of safeguarding information around the electoral process.

Lastly, I will point to a number of other electoral reform commitments in the programme for Government, namely, examining the Scottish experience of reducing the voting age, the use of posters at elections and referendums, the use of postal voting with a view to expanding its use, the replacement of by-elections with an alternate list system and the time limitation on people who are temporarily living outside the State to remain on the electoral register. An examination of these issues, along with other electoral matters, is contained in An Coimisiún Toghcháin’s research programme, published earlier this year.

I thank the committee. Ms Woods and I will be happy to engage further with the committee this afternoon.