The “inaccuracy and incompleteness” of the electoral register could be rectified by a series of initiatives including the use of PPS numbers, an Oireachtas committee has suggested.

A report on the proposed electoral commission, published by the environment committee, found the register could improve by introducing a central electronic register to replace the existing 31 registers.

The use of a “unique identifier such as PPSN to address the problems of inaccuracy and incompleteness” was recommended, with the committee stressing such a move must be in compliance with data protection.

Online registration should be investigated “and aspired to when there is satisfaction that it is secure”, the report said. A “rolling” register should replace the annual canvass and supplementary register, and individual rather than household registration should be the norm.

The committee, chaired by Labour TD Michael McCarthy, recommended that an electoral commission should be established without delay and should be an independent statutory body accountable to the Houses of the Oireachtas.