John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Public consultation was completed just prior to the local and European elections on updating the electoral register. Similar complaints to those raised by the Deputy have reached me from other parts of the country in recent days. The public consultation report will be published as soon as possible. The aim is to introduce a new process of online registration, as well as a hard-copy registration process, in the autumn of this year. Matters are slightly complicated by the fact that we do not want to do anything that would undermine public confidence in the system and the process. As the Deputy pointed out, we are not yet sure when some future voting events might take place. However, her point is accurate. Most of the returns from the public consultation focused on the desirability of using people's PPS numbers to ensure that those who have passed away are removed and also that those who have changed address are registered at the right location.

See this speech in context