John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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176. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government for an update on the development of a national shared electoral registration system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31150/25]

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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177. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the percentage of electoral register entries that have a valid PPSN; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31151/25]

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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178. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the percentage of electoral register entries that have a valid Eircode; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31152/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 176 to 178, inclusive, together.

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 in respect of its own administrative area.

The Electoral Reform Act 2022 provided for significant changes to streamline and modernise the electoral registration process. According to figures collated for the Local Government Electoral Registration System Project and provided to my Department by Dublin City Council, at the end of 2024, approximately 22% of entries on the register have an associated PPSN which means those have been checked and confirmed; 73% have an associated Eircode. The next update of these figures will relate to end June 2025 and will be available in July.

As provided for in the legislation, www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2023/si/460/made/en/pdf, Dublin City Council is prescribed as the Designated Registration Authority for the purpose of establishing, managing and maintaining the new shared database to facilitate registration authorities in the efficient performance of their functions in relation to the electoral register. Following a procurement process by Dublin City Council, contracts for the development work for the new system were signed in September 2024 and development work is currently ongoing.

To support the significant data quality work they are doing to prepare for migration to the new system including standardisation, translation and the management of duplicates and deceased electors I have made funding of over €3m available to Local Authorities in 2025 alone. This builds on funding in 2023 and 2024 to support data quality work and also provides each Local Authority with two additional staff members to undertake this task.

Migration will take place on a phased basis starting in Q1 2026 and it is expected the new system will be operational across the Sector by end-2026. The new system will enable Local Authorities to identify and manage duplicates at national level, will integrate the death events publication service from the General Register Office, and will streamline administration of the register within a modern and highly secure architecture as well as providing an enhanced service to the public.

To ensure the overall integrity of the register continues to improve over time I remain committed to supporting local authorities in their efforts to further improve the data quality of the register. It is also the responsibility of every eligible elector to ensure that they are correctly registered and to update their details when needed. It’s never been easier and can be done via a simple online process through either checktheregister.ie or Voter.ie; paper forms remain available for those who wish/or need to use them.