Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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466. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will acknowledge the importance of encouraging young people to participate in the democratic process by becoming a registered voter; if she is aware of some of the difficulties young people have in trying to become a registered voter for the first time (details supplied); if there are plans to streamline the process to make it more accessible; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15262/23]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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470. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she is aware how difficult it is to obtain a MyGovID account; and her plans to address this (details supplied) [15286/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 466 and 470 together.

A person is not required to have a Public Services Card (PSC) before they can be added to the Register of Electors and any issues regarding difficulties a person may experience in being added to the Register are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

MyGovID is the secure online identity authentication service provided by my Department. Once a person has authenticated their identity by way of SAFE registration and been issued with a PSC, they can set up a verified MyGovID account.

A verified MyGovID account can be used to access the online services provided by a number of public bodies. This provides assurance to the public body concerned as to the identity of the person they are dealing with online, helps to protect that person against the implications of online identity theft, and helps ensure that their data protection rights are protected. Currently, there are 1.957 million verified MyGovID accounts, an increase of 593,000 in the period since 1 January 2022.

Dublin City Council provides an online service on Voter.ie on behalf of the other Dublin local authorities which allows people living in those local authority areas add themselves to the Register, change their address, edit their electoral details and remove themselves from the Register.

In order to access this service a person needs to have a verified MyGovID account. Anyone who does not have a verified MyGovID account can apply to be added to the Register or change their details by downloading the appropriate application form from Voter.ie and submitting it to the appropriate local authority.

My Department continues to experience a high level of demand for PSCs. Since the beginning of this year, almost 93,000 SAFE registrations and PSC renewals have been completed nationally. In 2022, almost 346,000 SAFE registration and PSC renewals were carried out by my Department.

If the Deputies provide me with details of the person concerned, I will arrange for the circumstances of the application to be reviewed and a PSC processed promptly.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputies.