‘Cause for concern’ at the legacy accuracy issues on the Limerick electoral register

AN COIMISIÚN Toghcháin’s first Oversight Report on Ireland’s Electoral Registers says that there is "cause for concern" at the legacy accuracy issues on the Limerick electoral register. 

The report recommends a plan for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the 31 local authorities to finally address this issue before the next round of electoral events in 2029. This should begin with audits of every electoral register in the country.

It also recommended that  Limerick City and County Council and the Department should ensure that there are sufficient resources provided to progress the project and to implement the recommendations in the report.

The report said Limerick Council's register has "some distance to go" before all four accuracy indicators reach even the current national averages, which also have considerable scope for improvement. "While acknowledging the resourcing pressures of managing and maintaining the register during a year with five electoral events, this is a cause for concern."

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The report also noted that, An Coimisiún doesn't believe that the management and maintenance of the Limerick electoral register is satisfactorily prioritised by the local authority. While there have been some efforts to improve the quality of this register, a higher level of effort needs to be made.

"Given the overall quality of this register, based on information provided, it will not be possible to estimate with any degree of certainty either the registration rate for the county, turnout at electoral events or the numbers of people who are not registered until there is considerable improvement before the start of the next electoral cycle in 2029.”

In response to these findings, Limerick Council said it has been working diligently to deliver on reforms outlined in the Electoral Reform Act 2022. “The introduction of a central shared repository will mean that for the first time in Ireland, the registration process will be supported by a single secured electoral register database.

“This will enable local authorities, including Limerick City and County Council, to reduce issues of duplicate or erroneous records.  It will also standardise data protection, security provision, and data-sharing across the sector. 

"We welcome the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s recent announcement of additional funding as part of the electoral registration modernisation project. This will enable local authorities to hire additional staff to intensify work on electoral register data."

The data from the report provided appears to indicate that 96.2% of the estimated eligible population of Limerick city and county are registered to vote. However, given the relatively low levels of accuracy indicators it is likely that this figure is inflated due to duplicate and redundant entries on the register.

The Limerick city and county register increased by 16,153 between February 2023 and December 2024. This was an increase of 11.0%.

The high registration rate relative to the estimated eligible population, at 96.2%, is not necessarily an accurate indication of registration rates, as it is likely to be a product of inaccuracies on the register due to duplicate and redundant entries.

Limerick Council reported two full-time staff working on the register in 2023, increasing to four in early 2024. It should be noted that, with the first directly elected mayor election in June, staff had to prepare for six electoral events in 2024.

Staff working on the register also have responsibility for a range of other corporate functions. An additional seven staff were assigned to the register team to assist with processing applications in advance of the March referendums, and overtime was used to manage additional work.

It's estimated that Limerick Council spent €73,060 on the register in 2023 and approved €68,935 expenditure on the electoral register for 2024.