Register of Electors 2023 Privacy Notice

1.0 The purposes of the data processing for the electoral register

Clare County Council, as a Registration Authority, is responsible for the preparation, publication, dissemination, validation and management of the Register of Electors and any Balancing List as we may be required to produce in accordance with the Electoral Act 1992 (as amended) and the Electoral Reform Act 2022.

To be able to vote at a general, presidential, local election, or referendum, a person (who is referred to as an Elector) must be entered on the Register of Electors for the area in which he/she ordinarily resides.

To determine eligibility for inclusion on the Register, persons wishing to be included are required to provide the following personal data:

• Name.
• Address: a person must be ordinarily resident at the address in question. A person may be registered at one address only.
• Eircode.
• PPSN number
• Date of birth – You can register to vote at any time (up to 15 days before an electoral event). A person must be at least 18 years of age to be eligible to vote. However, you can register to vote if you are 16 years or over. By registering at the age of 16, it means that your Local Authority will be able to move you to the live register once you reach the age of 18.
• Citizenship: While every adult resident is entitled to be registered, the registration authority needs to know a person's citizenship because it is citizenship that determines the election/referendum at which a person may vote.

This privacy notice is to demonstrate our commitment to privacy, and to assure you that we will ensure the security of your personal data. The Council wants to ensure you understand how we will manage your data. The personal data provided to the Council is used to prepare the Register of Electors.

2.0 Processing and storage of your data

Electoral details can be updated at any time (up to 15 days before an electoral event) by accessing Check the Register website This website allows the elector to register for the first time, review existing details & amend details. Access to the checktheregister database by Clare Co Co staff is password protected.

Register of Elector staff in this local authority input the information from checktheregister to a database called IReg. The IReg database records the personal data provided by electors. This data is used to generate the Register of Electors, which is a continuous rolling register. Access to IReg is password protected and restricted to Council staff with responsibility for generating the Electoral Register.

Members of the public can submit amendments in hard copy format. Forms are available from this office, on request. Completed registration forms provided by individuals are stored by the Council in a safe and secure area. Access to these records is restricted to staff responsible for generating the Electoral Register.

Retention of data follows the Council’s Record Retention Policy.

3.0 The legal bases for the processing of personal data to form the electoral register

Articles 6(1)(c) and 6(1)(e) of the General Data Protection Regulation, 2016 provide the legal basis.  Under article 6(1)(c), the processing is necessary by Clare Co Co in compliance with their legal obligation. Under Article 6(1)e, the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest  or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Council as data controller, namely the Electoral Act 1992 (as amended) and the Electoral Reform Act 2022 and any Regulations made thereunder, in conjunction with the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended. 

4.0 Recipients of the personal data

As a Registration Authority we are required to provide the Register of Electors to the following listed here-under free of charge. The Register contains personal information including name, address, Eircode and citizenship, it does not include date of birth:

 a) One copy of the Register for each Dáil constituency or for an electoral area is provided to:

• The local agent of each duly nominated candidate at a Presidential Election
• Each candidate duly nominated for a constituency at a Dáil Election and
• Each candidate duly nominated for the local electoral area at a local election.

 b) One copy of the Register for each European Parliament constituency is provided to each candidate duly nominated at a European election for that constituency.

 c) One copy of the Register for each Dáil constituency is provided to each member of the Dáil for that constituency and to each member of the Seanad resident in the constituency for use by a personation agent appointed by such Member of the Dáil or Seanad or a body declared to be an approved body under Section 7 of the Referendum Act 1998 at a Referendum.

 d) The number of copies of the Register for each Dáil constituency or for a local electoral area which are required by the Returning Officer in respect of a Dáil or local election or by the local returning officer in respect of a Presidential election or referendum,

 e) The number of copies of the Register for the registration area as the Returning Officer or Local Returning Officer requires for a European election.

 f) On an annual basis, a bound copy of the Register will be given to the Archivist for retention. This copy contains the names, addresses and Eircode of the electors.

 g) The information is shared with the Local Government Management Services Agency. A Data Sharing Agreement is in place.

2) A registration authority must also supply a copy of any computer files which are used in the production of the Register to the Returning Officer in respect of a Dáil or local election, the Local Returning officer in respect of a Presidential election or referendum or the Returning Officer or Local Returning Officer at a European election for the purpose of such polls. A Registration Authority may also be requested to forward a copy of the Register to the Minister for the Housing, Planning and Local Government.

3) In addition, and to assist the compilation of the Register, the Council will, where persons have made applications notifying a local authority of a change of address to a location outside the county of Clare, forward that information to the relevant local authority who has responsibility for managing that Register. This is done to ensure that the person is included on the correct Register and will be entitled to vote at the next election.

4) A copy of the computer files, containing names and addresses, are also provided to the printing company engaged for the purpose of printing polling cards.

5) Other specific uses of the Register that are authorised by statute are:

• Section 6 of the Juries Act 1976 – Qualification and liability for Jury Service
• Rule 3 of Schedule 4 of the Grangegorman Development Agency Act 2005 - Election of Residents' Nominee to the Agency and Residents' Members of the Consultative Group
• Section 1 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2012 – the selection of citizens of Ireland to participate in the Convention on the Constitution.

6) In addition, the Registration Authority is also required to publish the Register by sending a copy free of charge to the following persons:

• The County Registrar For the Registration Area                          
• Each representative for the EU Parliament Constituency
• Each member of Dáil Éireann for the Dáil constituency
• Each member of Seanad Éireann residing in the constituency
• For the Local Electoral Area - Each local authority member.

7) An application may be made by a third party to have a correction made to the register, including in particular a claim to have the name of a person entered on or be removed from the register.  The registration authority shall allow any persons, for any purpose connected with the registration of electors, or who, in the opinion of the authority, may be affected by the claim, to inspect and take a copy of a claim or extract from a claim or may provide to such persons copies of a claim. 

5.0 Clare County Council Register of Elector contact details

Clare County Council’s contact details in relation to the Register of Elector are as follows: Administrative Officer, Register of Electors, Corporate Services, Clare County Council, Áras Contae an Chláir, New Road, Ennis, Clare V95 DXP2, telephone number: (065) 6846474 Email: register@clarecoco.ie

6.0 Your Rights to complain to the Office of the Data Protection

You have the right to request access to personal data held about you, rights of rectification and erasure, rights of restriction and objection and rights of portability. To exercise these rights please see details in the attached link and the sample application forms on our website.

(or available on request from the Data Protection office, see contact details above). Please note that to help protect your privacy, we take steps to verify your identity before granting access to personal data. Further details can be obtained from Clare County Council’s website. To exercise these rights or if you have any questions on data protection compliance, you should contact Clare County Council Data Protection Officer at the following address: Data Protection Officer, Clare County Council, Áras Contae an Chláir, New Road, Ennis, Clare V95 DXP2, Telephone number: (065) 6846405 or email: dpa@clarecoco.ie

7.0 Right of complaint to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the response you received from Clare County Council in relation to your request or in relation to exercising your data rights, then you are entitled to make a complaint to the Data Protection Commissioner who can investigate the matter for you.

The Data Protection Commissioner’s website is: www.dataprotection.ie.

Contact number: (01) 7650100 or 1800437737

Email: info@dataprotection.ie.

Postal address:
Data Protection Commissioner,
Canal House,
Station Road,
Portarlington,
Co Laois,
R32 AP23.

Page last reviewed: 18/09/23

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