Ireland begins public consultation, testing for digital wallet

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Ireland’s government has launched a public consultation and testing phase for its digital wallet scheme to inform legislation and “make sure the digital wallet works for everyone,” in accordance with new European Union legislation that requires every member state to introduce a secure digital identity wallet.

The consultation and testing phase was launched on April 3, alongside a government factsheet about the digital wallet scheme, which outlined how the wallet aims to support a broad range of digital documents across sectors such as travel, education, health, and banking.

“This will streamline how individuals access public services and facilitate greater integration of services across government,” said the factsheet. “It will facilitate the digitalisation of public services by providing people with a secure, convenient way to store and use verified digital credentials through a mobile application linked to their MyGovID account.”

Ireland’s digital wallet is a core component of the governments “Digital Public Service Plan 2030,”a roadmap launched in November 2025 to digitize and transform public services in the country.

While the government has made clear the digital wallet will be voluntary for citizens, offering it is a requirement of the European Digital Identity Framework, which entered into force in May 2024 and mandates that each EU member state offer at least one version of a European Digital Identity (EUDI) wallet, built to the same common specifications, by 2026.

Consultation and testing

The Irish government’s Department of Culture, Communications and Sport is responsible for implementing the EU digital wallet regulation, known as eIDAS 2, and will also spearhead the testing phase, which the government explainer said “is critical to supporting the development of the Government Digital Wallet programme.”

According to the factsheet, the testing phase “will educate the public and other stakeholders on the value, safety and workings of the wallet. It will also give people an opportunity to contribute to the final design and the prioritisation of future credentials.”

Specifically, the government said it would help stress-test the infrastructure and the support mechanisms for the digital wallet, while contributing to ongoing work to transpose the eIDAS 2 legislation and establish the necessary governance and regulatory oversight for issuance of an EUDI Wallet in Ireland.

Meanwhile, the accompanying consultation allows the public and interested parties to contribute to developing the wallet and to inform the required statutory and legislative developments.

“Launching a consultation and testing at this stage enables us to engage with the public to understand what they would like from the Government Digital Wallet,” the factsheet stated. “We need to understand what people expect, what worries they may have and how we can explain the wallet clearly, especially since using it will be voluntary.”

Allaying privacy fears

Pre-empting some of the common fears associated with digital wallets and digital IDs, which will almost certainly be voiced in some responses to the consultation, the government factsheet explained a few key features of the proposed wallets.

Firstly, “the government will not track or record any data that is stored in the Digital Wallet.”

This relates to concerns around privacy, with critics of digital ID schemes—such as the vocal opponents of the United Kingdom’s recent failed push for a digital ID—often citing fears that it could be abused by governments for surveillance purposes, or breached by hackers.

With this in mind, Ireland’s government made clear that the user would be “the only person who can see their data, which is securely stored locally on their mobile phone.”

It added that the digital wallet will operate “on the principles of privacy-by-design, ensuring that you only need to share the data that is needed for delivery of a support or service.”

In terms of who will be responsible for maintaining these standards, the Department of Social Protection is the owner of Ireland’s current MyGovID identity scheme, an online portal where users can make an account linked to an ID and access certain government services, which will provide “a safe and proven route to securely access the wallet in a way that will satisfy all relevant requirements under the eIDAS 2 regulation.”

The government did not specify an end date for the consultation or its testing phase, but the EU regulation requires that the wallet scheme be in place by the end of the year, so it’s likely both will come to an end toward or in Q4.

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