Ireland is pushing ahead with plans for a national digital wallet, complete with built‑in age checks that could force social media platforms to verify users, placing the country at the forefront of Europe’s tightening online‑safety agenda.

Announced by Ireland’s Minister for Digitalisation, Jack Chambers, the new Government Digital Wallet will enter public testing with the aim of making it “simpler for people to verify their identity, apply for supports, and access entitlements”. 

The Irish government said that the Digital Wallet is a key part of its plans to digitalise the majority of public services, including applying for social housing or registering for welfare supports, and will allow for the safe storage of digital versions of birth certificates, driving licenses, health cards, and other official documents.  

As a member of the EU, Ireland is legally obliged under the bloc’s eIDAS 2 Regulation to make a digital wallet available to all citizens and residents by the end of this year, with the European Commission dictating this should be a “mobile app enabling users to identify themselves to public and private online services” – essentially a digital ID like that championed by the UK Government.

However, while debate has raged in the UK surrounding how far the state and tech companies should go to verify users’ ages online, Ireland has taken a more decisive route by baking an age‑verification feature directly into its digital wallet. 

Recommended reading

• Less Than Half of Brits Trust Digital IDs, New Report Warns
• How Many People Will Be Using a Digital Identity Wallet by 2026?
• UK Launches Public Consultation as Digital ID Doubts Grow

Comments from another of Ireland’s ministers for digitalisation, Frank Feighan, indicate the wallet will “be able to facilitate secure age verification capability as set out in Digital Ireland and the implementation of the Online Safety Code”, under which platforms must have age verification measures in place to protect children and young people from online harm.

For now, the wallet will operate on an opt‑in basis while testing and consultation continue, but by December 2027, Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs), including social media and tech firms, will be required to accept digital wallets for authentication, embedding such systems into the EU’s broader online‑safety infrastructure.    

Despite being the EU HQ for many of them, getting these platforms on board may prove tricky, however, with the Irish Times revealing last month that there was “no firm agreement” with any social media firm to be a part of the pilot scheme.