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Press release

Ministers announce additional resources for Local Authorities as they prepare to move to the national electoral registration system

Total funding allocation for 2025 is now €3m – building on significant progress to date

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne. T.D, and Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government and Planning John Cummins TD, today
announced additional staffing for local authorities to intensify work on their electoral register data. The additional resources, agreed with the County and City Management Association, will be in addition to existing staff, and to the €1.7m already allocated to Local Authorities across the country this year to build on work done in 2023 and 2024.

The Ministers have now made over €3m available to local authorities for 2025 as they enter a critical phase of the electoral registration modernisation project.

The two elements of funding will enable local authorities to build on progress in 2023 and 2024 to update the electoral register and in addition, will put in place two additional staff resources in each local authority specifically to address identified data issues in preparation for the move to the new national electoral registration system in 2026.

The Electoral Reform Act 2022 made significant changes to the electoral registration process, including introducing rolling voter registration and enabling online applications. More than 880,000 online applications to register as a voter have been received and processed by Local Authorities.

Referring to the progress made to date, the Minister said:

“Over one in five entries on the register has been updated since October 2022 and these have been checked and confirmed. This represents a very substantial step towards ensuring that our electoral register is up to date. Nevertheless, there is obviously a lot more to do and the funding and additional resources I am announcing today will support that work.”

Recognising that the electoral register is a long standing Local Authority function, the Minister paid tribute to Local Authorities for their work to date:

“I want to particularly acknowledge the tremendous work by Local Authority staff all over the country who worked tirelessly throughout 2024 under very challenging timelines to ensure people were registered to vote while at all times ensuring the register was available for the electoral events that took place. We have engaged with the Sector throughout this process and the engagement of the CCMA has been constructive throughout – I look forward to continuing to work with them on this shared goal.”

With a renewed commitment under the current programme for government and a detailed plan for improving electoral register data having been submitted to him by the CCMA, the Minister said:

“Enabling these additional resources to be put in place for the next 18 months, is, I believe, the right thing to do and the right time to do it. There is a detailed plan in place to address a range of issues –ensuring that by the end of 2026 when all local authorities are operating on the national system, the data held on the electoral register will be as accurate and up-to-date as possible.”

Minister of State Cummins added:

“The new system will transform the administration of the electoral register and it will enable the improved management of duplication on the register at national level, all within a modern and secure infrastructure; for the public, the new system will make the process even more straightforward, it will facilitate the use of MyGovID and make moves between Local authorities seamless.”

Recalling that electoral registration is also a personal responsibility, the Minister encouraged everyone to check the register, saying:

“There is a Presidential election planned for later this year – but don’t leave it to the last minute to sort your vote! - it is a matter for each of us to check our details at checktheregister.ie and ensure they are current and correct and update them if needed. With the new processes in place, it’s never been easier, or quicker to do and it means we all play our part in ensuring an accurate and up to date register.”

Ends

Notes for Editors

The management and maintenance of the electoral register is the statutory responsibility of each local authority in its capacity as a registration authority under the Electoral Acts. Two funding allocations have now been made in 2025, in addition to each Local Authority’s own resourcing of the franchise function:

  • €1.7 has been allocated to Local Authorities in 2025 for data quality improvements building on work done in 2023 and 2024. Specific allocations are calculated on the basis of 50% of the total being equally shared by all Local Authorities and the remaining 50% on the basis of population. Similar allocations were made available to Local Authorities in 2023 and 2024.
  • Two additional staffing resources for a period 18 months will be supported by the Department at a total cost of €4.8m over 2025 and 2026.

The Electoral Reform Act 2022 brought about significant reforms to modernise the registration process including, among other things, the introduction of rolling registration and the use of PPSNs in the process. Prior to the reforms the register could only be updated between November and February; outside of these fixed dates people needed to complete supplement forms which required an in person ID check at a Garda station to update in advance of an election. Online registration was only available in Dublin.

To date, over 880,000 online applications have been received by Local Authorities resulting in a significant updating of register data across the country. The process has also ensured that the register has always been available for use while enabling improvements to be made to overall integrity on an ongoing basis. This included during the electoral events held in 2024.

Critically in terms of the modernisation project, over 22% of the electorate nationally now have a PPSN linked to their record. This means that those electors have had an identity data check carried out, as provided for in the legislation, a significant first step in what will be an ongoing process to ensure that each person is registered correctly and that Local Authorities can administer the register more effectively including managing the risk of duplicate entries and ensuring the timely removal of the names of deceased people.

There is a further commitment in the Programme for Government - Securing Ireland’s Future to make the electoral registration process more efficient and accessible for citizens.

Work is progressing in relation to the development of a shared national electoral registration system, building on the existing voter.ie which has been in use in the Dublin region since 2019. Dublin City Council is the lead authority for the Local Government sector and has been designated under the Electoral Acts to establish and maintain the new system. The new system will deliver significant improvements for electors through more integrated systems, including MyGovID and will greatly enhance the capacity of local authorities to administer the register within a highly secure modern infrastructure.

The Department has committed to support the project phase (€7.62m funding to cover the period 2024 to 2026) after which it will be funded by Local Authorities. The system is in development and migration to the new system will take place on a phased basis in 2026.

The additional resourcing being made available will allow local authorities carry out specific tasks that have been identified as part of migration preparation, including translation and standardisation as well as more general data checks and updates. Local authorities will migrate to the new national system in a phased manner in 2026.