Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 July 2022
228. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when voter.ie will be expanded to cover areas outside of Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35663/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for Government - Our Shared Future commits to a broad range of electoral reforms including the modernisation of voter registration. The Electoral Reform Bill provides the legislative underpinning for the modernisation among other things, including the establishment of an independent Electoral Commission. The Bill is currently making its way through the Houses of the Oireachtas. Committee stage (resumed) and Report and Final stages are scheduled in the Seanad for Thursday 7th July.
The modernisation will include the introduction of rolling (continuously updated) registration; the simplification of forms and the overall registration process, and the use of PPSNs in the registration process. New options to register, including online registration will also be made available. Together, these reforms will make it easier for people to register to vote and update their details, while enabling more effective management of the register by local authorities.
Voter.ie is an initiative of the Dublin local authorities that offers online registration via MyGovID as well as a shared database within which each Dublin local authority continues to manage its register. As part of progressing the commitment to developing a national shared database, as provided for in the legislation, Dublin City Council is the lead authority for this project as it will build on the experience of Voter.ie. A governance structure drawn from central and local government has been put in place to oversee the project.
Given that this process, which will include a procurement process, will take some time to complete, in order to prepare for the passage and commencement of the legislation, work to update the systems currently used by registration authorities is underway. This will include enabling the submission of online applications to all registration authorities.
