Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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348. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the initiatives that will be established to encourage more young persons to register to vote. [25141/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I am committed to maximising the number of young people voting and engagement with our democratic processes. Several initiatives are either in place or in development in order to achieve this aim.

Firstly, my Department promotes greater awareness of the register of electors and encourages people to register to vote through an annual public awareness campaign. This entails the use of promotional posters, social media and the taking out of both newspaper and on-line advertisements. This campaign takes place each year between 1November and 25November. The social media campaign is a coordinated, pro-active online campaign that seeks to engage various sectors and audiences encouraging people to check their voter details on the register of electors. One of the main target groups of the social media campaign is younger people over the age of 17 that may need to register for the first time.

In addition, the Programme for Government - Our Shared Future - commits to the establishment of an Electoral Commission. It is intended that the new Commission will have a public awareness and education role in respect of electoral events. The Programme for Government commits to the Electoral Commission being in place by the end of 2021 and my Department is currently preparing legislation in order to progress this initiative.

The Programme for Government also commits to the modernisation of the electoral register. While the current electoral registration system has served the country well, it is clear that modernisation will bring significant benefits, in particular by making the process more streamlined and accessible to all. As part of this wider modernisation initiative, one of the proposals being considered is provision for the pre-registration of 16 and 17 year-olds. This pre-registration would then become automatically active on a person’s 18^thbirthday. This proposal would also provide opportunities, such as the development of a schools programme, for young people to engage with the electoral register thereby improving the chances of their engagement post-18 when they become eligible to vote.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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349. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to resolve the issue of persons in rented accommodation finding it difficult to re-register on the electoral register in view of the frequency of lease changes. [25142/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Local authorities in their capacity as registration authorities are responsible for the compilation and maintenance of the register of electors in their areas. It is their duty, as far as possible, and with the co-operation and engagement of the public, to ensure the accuracy and comprehensiveness of that register.The current process provides a number of opportunities to register or update details.

The draft register is published for inspection on 1 November each year and I would urge all citizens to check the register to ensure that they are registered and that their details are correct. They can do this by visiting www.checktheregister.ie or contacting their Local Authorities.Corrections can be submitted between 1 and 25 November via a form, which is available on the website or from local authorities.

The updated register will be published on 1 February 2021 and come into effect on 15 February 2021.

Outside of this time period, if a person is missing from the register they can apply to be entered on the supplement to the register or change their address. The supplement remains open until 14 days before polling day and again, all relevant forms are available online or from Local Authorities.

While the current electoral registration system has served the country well, it is clear that modernisation will bring significant benefits, in particular by making the process more streamlined and accessible for all.

Among the electoral reform proposals included in the Programme for Government – Our Shared Future – is the creation of a rolling register; the use of PPSNs to verify identity; simplified forms and the roll out of optional online registration.These proposals will contribute to simplifying and streamlining the entire process of registration to make it more accessible and more responsive to how we live today.Work is underway in my Department to progress these initiatives.