In 2025, a set of questions on the use of electronic identification (eID) were included in the survey questionnaire. This is a biennial module and was asked for the first time in 2023. eID enables the identification of a person and secure login to online services in Ireland or other European countries.
Electronic identification can unambiguously identify a person and ensure that a service is delivered specifically to this person. It involves multi-layered authentication and requires at least two factor-authentication, rather than just username/password authentication.
Examples of the use of eID to access public services include myAccount for submitting your tax declaration or other services, MyGovID for applying for social benefits, requesting official certificates, National Driver Licence Services (NDLS), motor tax, etc. Using eID to access services provided by the private sector include accessing banking services, login to transport services, identification via eID e.g. on a digital marketplace such as Facebook Marketplace, etc. The details in this chapter highlight the high percentage of internet users who use eID to access online services in the public and private sectors.
Note: The data presented in this release relates to individuals aged 16 years and over who used the internet in the 12 months prior to completing the survey.
Just short of four in five (79%) had used electronic identification (eID) to get secure access to online services provided by the public or private sector.
Females (81%) were marginally more likely to use eIDs than males (77%).
Of people who had used eID in the previous 12 months, over nine in ten (92%) has used eID such as MyGovID, myAccount, etc. to access online services provided by public authorities or services. At 94% males were marginally more likely than females (89%) to have used eID to access public services.
Over eight in ten (85%) of non-nationals had used eID to access public services compared with 92% of people whose nationality was Irish.
Over one-third (34%) of non-Irish people had used eID to access online services provided by public authorities/services in other European countries compared with less than one in five (18%) Irish people.
Nine in ten (90%) who had used eID had used electronic identification to access online services provided by the private sector, such as accessing banking services, login to transport services, identification via eID e.g. on a digital marketplace like Facebook Marketplace.
Of those who did not use eID in the previous 12 months, over four in ten (42%) were not aware of the existence of eID while 40% said they did not have any form of eID. A further one in seventeen (6%) have an eID but didn’t need it to access any online services requiring eID in the previous 12 months.
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