A Wicklow TD tabling legislation to remove politicians' addresses from ballot papers has said she is trying to protect her family.
Under current law, candidates can either list their home address or their constituency office address on election papers.
The Electoral (Home Address of Candidates) Bill would remove the requirement for election candidates to publish their home address on nomination and ballot papers.
The Bill will be initiated to its first stage in the Dáil this afternoon.
Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore said a more general address for the local area could be given instead.
She told Newstalk Breakfast said she was surprised the law hadn't been changed previously.
"When I first ran for election in 2014 for the local council, I was really surprised to see my address on the ballot paper," she said.
"I really didn't like the feeling; I felt quite vulnerable, the fact that my address was on it.
"It wasn't only my address it was also the address of my three young children and my husband.
"Even back then I thought it just wasn't right that this was so widely available as public information."
'Completely unnecessary'
Deputy Whitmore said a more general address could be published instead.
"Anyone can run in any election no matter where they live, so you don't have to be from a local area," she said.
"But it could be done in a way that the local area is provided, so people can actually see that you are from that local district.
"All that can be worked through, but I think to have your actual physical address provided is overkill and completely unnecessary".
'A year of elections'
Deputy Whitmore said while her bill would simply remove the address from the ballot paper, she hopes it would give the Government "impetus to bring this bill through".
"If there's a need to include just the district area... they can include that in the legislation.
"What this is is the first step in the legislation; there is always movement and there is always amendments in it.
"I thought it was really important to get that first step in because we are in a year of elections.
"We have our local elections coming up, we possibly could have a general election and we've the European elections.
"I'm quite frustrated that this hasn't already been put in and done by Government, because it has been raised on a number of occasions with them".
Deputy Whitmore acknowledged that it is not difficult to find out where someone lives in Ireland, but insisted, "There is a big difference [between that and] making it publicly available to tens of thousands of people".
She added that steps need to be taken to make our democratic process safer.
