‘Significant work’ needed to improve accuracy of Offaly electoral register
Offaly's electoral register is below the national average for all four indicators used to determine accuracy, a new report has revealed.
The Oversight Report on Ireland's Electoral Registers was carried out by An Coimisiún Toghcháin, which said it was 'deeply concerned' at the legacy accuracy issues on the electoral registers nationwide.
The report looked at four accuracy indicators – the percentage of electors' PPS numbers recorded; the percentage of electoral Eircodes recorded; the percentage of electoral dates of birth recorded and the percentage of electoral combined dates of birth and Eircodes recorded.
The report stated that its analysis suggests that the higher the reported percentage of entries with combined dates of birth and Eircodes, the lower the overall percentage of registrations. Where the percentage of these accuracy indicators is higher, it is more likely duplicate or redundant entries will be removed.
Offaly is below the national average for all of the indicators; with 52% of electors having an assigned Eircode, compared to the national average of 69.8%; 76% having a date of birth (national average is 72.4%), and just 45% of electors have a combined date of birth and Eircode (national average is 56%). Some 19% of electors have an associated PPSN, while the national average is 22.
Based on figures provided by the local authority, 96.2% of the estimated eligible Offaly population are on the register.
The report states: “While this is a relatively high percentage, the low rates of accuracy indicators suggest significant work remains to be undertaken to improve the accuracy of the Offaly electoral register.”
Some work has been carried out in recent years to address duplicate entries, but the council advised An Coimisiún Toghcháin that there were about 120 duplicate entries ahead of last year's general election.
The council reported that an estimated 470 register entries were removed in 2022 and 700 in 2023. In 2024 as a whole, there were 2,369 deletions from and 5,301 updates to the register.
The report further revealed that Offaly County Council was one of seven local authorities that reported no staff working full-time in the franchise unit in 2023 and 2024. Two clerical officer staff worked part-time in the area in 2023 and 2024, supported by an unquantified number of staff from other areas in the run-up to the Family and Care referendums.
“This is a very low level of resourcing. Like a number of other local authorities, Offaly County Council reported that staff faced challenges in registering electors in time for electoral events, especially prior to the general election, for which registration deadlines were particularly tight,” the report stated.
It is estimated that €8,929 was spent on the register in 2023. The same amount has been approved for 2024. Offaly County Council received €41,134 in funding from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in 2023 to support register-related activities and €41,145 in 2024.
The report added that the council undertook a limited number of activities to raise awareness of the register, but added that this may be linked to the low level of resources.
In its overall assessment of the Offaly register of electors, An Coimisiún Toghcháin stated: “Offaly County Council’s register has some distance to go before three of the four accuracy indicators reach even the current national averages, which also need to be improved. While acknowledging the considerable work undertaken by Offaly County Council to manage and maintain the register since February 2023, the low coverage rates on the accuracy indicators is a concern.
“Based on the information provided, An Coimisiún does not believe that the management and maintenance of the electoral register is satisfactorily prioritised by this local authority. While there have been some efforts to improve the quality of this register, a higher level of effort needs to be made.”