REGISTERING TO VOTE is now possible online and year-round, while 16 and 17-year-olds can now pre-register online.

Those are some of the improvements being made to the process of registering to vote and updating registration details.

Minister for Housing and Local Government Darragh O’Brien and Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, have encouraged the public to confirm and update their details on the newly upgraded Check the Register website.  

Minister Noonan says the changes “give us a more accessible, flexible and modern system that’s simple and straightforward to use”.

All electors are now being asked to visit the Check the Register website to confirm or update their entry by adding their PPSN, Date of Birth and Eircode. 

This will help local authorities ensure that entries are accurate and up to date, as well as enabling the identification of entries on the register that require follow up.

A paper form will still remain available for those who wish to use it, either with a PPSN or an in-person identity check at a local Garda station, similar to the previous process.

The main changes to the electoral registration process include a move from fixed periods for updating details to rolling updates.

Previously, people could only update their details in November or via the supplement which required a visit to a Garda station.

However, the changes announced allow for continuous or rolling registration and will enable updates or additions at any time of year.

The application process is also being “streamlined” through the use of PPSNs, which means most people won’t have to visit a Garda station to have their forms witnessed.

Meanwhile, registering to vote can now be done online and at any time.

16 and 17 year olds can also pre-register to vote and they will be automatically added to the register from when they turn 18.

The new process also includes measures to facilitate electors whose safety might be at risk if their details were to be published on the register and those who have no address.  

Minister O’Brien described this as “one further step in the work to safeguard our electoral processes”.