Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 November 2015
1092. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will centralising checktheregister.ie, and having it run by his Department in place of local authorities, in light of concerns raised regarding inefficiencies in the voter registration process. [38192/15]
Amharc ar fhreagrawww.checktheregister.ie is a centralised database, hosted by the Local Government Management Agency on behalf of local authorities. It is available to assist the public in checking online that their voter registration details are up-to-date. In law, the preparation and maintenance of the register of electors is a matter for local authorities. The register details are then managed by the authorities and the Local Government Management Agency to provide the checktheregister.ie facility. I have no plans to change the current arrangements.
However, one of the issues being considered in the context of the establishment of an Electoral Commission is the role that the Commission might play in respect of the register of electors. I await the report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht following their public consultation on the paper I published last January on the establishment of an Electoral Commission. Their report, which I understand will be published shortly, will inform the development of an Electoral Commission Bill including the future role of all involved in the register of electors.
