Ireland on track for EUDIW deadline with launch of digital wallet in 2026
Ireland is on schedule to deliver its digital identity wallet by the end of the year, in keeping with the schedule laid out for the EU Digital Identity (EUDI Wallet) scheme. The wallet aims to give citizens easier access to government services and administrative tasks, such as taking a driving test or registering the birth of a child. It will also allow anyone to identify themselves online and offline in EU territory, as a valid host for biometric digital ID.
Under the eIDAS 2.0 regulation, EU countries have until the end of 2026 to offer their citizens a workable digital wallet. A year after that, banks, and credit institutions will have to accept the digital wallet for identity verification.
According to a report in the Irish Independent, private companies, including social media platforms, could also use the wallet by the end of 2027. The implied use case is age assurance, as Ireland considers legislating age restrictions for social media in keeping with global regulatory trends.
There will be a voluntary pilot around the use of the wallet for age verification during the rollout, which begins this month with public consultation, during which people can peruse the wallet’s design and offer feedback.
The second stage “enables voluntary participants aged sixteen or older to download the wallet and test limited functionality.”
Ireland pushes forward on digital ID as public acceptance rises
Ireland is pursuing an ambitious digital transformation plan, with a target of 2030 to digitize 100 percent of key digital public services. The wallet is an essential part of that plan.
Digital ID has seen enthusiastic uptake in Ireland, with the country’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) saying some eight in 10 people now use a digital ID, such as MyGovID or Ireland’s tax revenue service myAccount, to access essential services.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin says the government wants “all areas of the economy and society to benefit from digital and AI technologies – helping businesses to grow, improving our public services and ensuring everyone has the skills to succeed in a digital and AI-driven economy and society.” Ireland ranks seventh in the OECD’s 2025 Digital Government Index (DGI), reflecting its established reputation as a digital hub.
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Article Topics
age verification | digital ID | eIDAS | EU Digital Identity Wallet | government services | Ireland
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The practical implementation of a social media minimum age in Ireland if that is below 18 is more complex than it appears.
Ireland’s digital wallet is being positioned as a mechanism for age assurance, but the underlying identity infrastructure does not yet support universal coverage at 16. Most notably, there is no established, scalable pathway today to onboard and verify 16–17 year olds into a high-assurance government identity system.
While the wallet will be built on MyGovID and existing state infrastructure, such as a Personal Public Service Number, those systems are primarily designed around adult interactions with public services. Extending them to minors raises non-trivial questions around onboarding, consent, document availability, and coverage. The government’s own materials acknowledge that the role of the wallet in age verification remains under development and subject to policy decisions.
Unless Ireland either (a) extends its identity infrastructure to systematically include minors, or (b) enables a broader ecosystem of age assurance providers to support the policy as Australia has done, a wallet-only model will not deliver universal inclusivity and accessibility.