COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, June 09, 2025

QUESTION NO. 16

QUESTION: Councillor J. Sinnott

To ask the Chief Executive what steps have been taken by South Dublin County Council to update the electoral register to ensure it is as accurate as possible?

REPLY:

SDCC is the Registration Authority responsible for the management and maintenance of the electoral register for the county. The Corporate Services Department maintains and updates the electoral register on a continual basis by adding, removing or updating details as necessary to ensure complete and accurate electoral registers. Further, it undertakes activities to support the accuracy and completeness of the register, including continuous promotion and awareness-raising activities of the Register of Electors through communications campaigns utilising digital displays, print displays and radio voice overs in several shopping centres throughout the South Dublin, the Council's social media channels, bus shelter and local media advertising, and the Council's Citizens Newsletter, which is delivered to all households. Voter registration drives are held throughout the year at various events and locations, including public information stands at TUD Tallaght, The Square Shopping Centre and at the Council’s Community Service Day, at Comhairle na nÓg meetings, in community centres, and a staff registration campaign in Council offices. 

Extensive work has been carried out on a data cleansing and verification initiative, where the Council directly contacted 3,517 electors whose records may require validation or updating most usually with their Personal Public Service Number (PPSN), date of birth and phone details.  

An Coimisiún Toghcháin published its first Oversight Report on the Electoral Registers in May 2025, covering the period 2023 - 2024 - subsequent reports will be produced annually. The report aims to inform readers about how the electoral registers are managed and maintained, to provide an assessment of how accurate and complete the electoral registers are and, ultimately, to ensure the overall integrity of the electoral registers. The report with full recommendations is attached, and pages 153 to 156 provide an analysis of SDCC's electoral register and the Council's activities to maintain and manage it. An Coimisiún recognised the SDCC register as one of the more accurate in the country, highlighting strong performance in key accuracy indicators. The report acknowledges the Council’s sustained and largely successful efforts to improve the quality of the register, and it notes that electoral registration is generally given appropriate priority within the organisation.

SDCC Performance (December 2024)

Indicator  SDCC       National Average
PPSNs   21.0%       22.0%
DoBs   71.0%       72.4%
Eircodes   98.2%       69.8%
Combined DoB & Eircode   69.8%       56.0%

The Corporate Services Department participated fully in the collation and assessment process and we are currently reviewing the report and its recommendations to identify any further appropriate actions we may undertake to improve the accuracy of the register.