With polling day set for November 29th, the deadline to register to vote in the General Election is in just a few days.

The Taoiseach confirmed yesterday that Ireland will go to the polls on Friday November 29th, leaving first-time voters with just a few days to ensure they are registered to vote.

On Lunchtime Live, Newstalk political correspondent Seán Defoe said the deadline for registering to vote or for changing your address is Tuesday, November 12th.

First-time voters can register at CheckTheRegister.ie - making sure they have their PPSN and Eircode to hand.

"If you're changing address or even if you're registering for the first time, you have until Tuesday," Mr Defoe said.

Voters can change their address through their MyGov account or through CheckTheRegister.ie.

Registered voters, meanwhile, can check if they're registered at CheckTheRegister.ie.

"It's really easy to check," Mr Defoe said. "Literally all you need is your Eircode and your name."

Postal voting

Postal voting is available to a number of groups, including people who are away for work or students who live away from their registered address on polling day.

You can apply for a postal vote on CheckTheRegister.ie and voters are advised to send it before tomorrow afternoon.

"The overall rule on postal voting is if you're away on work business, you can get a postal vote," Mr Defoe said.

If you know you're going to be away for work on polling day, you will need to apply for a postal vote and your employer must sign the form.

If you are self-employed, the form will have to be witnessed by a notary public, a commissioner, a peace commissioner or a solicitor.  

Students will need to have their form signed by their university.

"If you are going to apply for a postal vote, your form has to be with your local authority tomorrow [November 8th]," Mr Defoe said.

"If it's sent and comes in to the postal offices on Monday morning, I’m told most of them will accept that but that is at the discretion of the returning office.

"It's not guaranteed."

Special voting

People in hospitals, nursing homes, mental health facilities and similar institutions can apply for special voting.

"For special voting, the staff will get in contact with the local authority, and someone will come in to witness the voting," Mr Defoe said.

He said people in this group will need to talk to the institution's staff to organise special voting on polling day.

More details on special voting can be found on CheckTheRegister.ie.

You can listen back here: