A new digital wallet to verify the age and identity of social media users in Ireland is “very close” to being launched and will be tested under a pilot scheme within the next four months.

Minister for Media Patrick O’Donovan said Ireland was moving forward with a plan to link online age verification to a Government ID, because of the “regrettably” slow pace of internet child protection measures at EU level.

There is strong enthusiasm at the most senior levels of Government for Ireland to place more restrictions on children’s social media use, but senior figures stopped short of backing an outright ban similar to the Australian one that is being introduced this week.

Mr O’Donovan said the ban was “one of the things that we are holding in reserve”, while Taoiseach Micheál Martin said on Friday there needs to be “more debate on whether blanket bans are the way to go”.

The Attorney General is advising the Government on how to make the online age-verification system compatible with EU law designed to prevent access to social media for those aged under 16.

While political leaders expect opposition to an age limit for social media from large tech companies, many of which base their European headquarters in Ireland, the Government has committed to making online child safety a key theme of its presidency of the council of the EU next year.

Speaking from a European Council meeting, Mr O’Donovan said he would have “preferred” if the EU had worked in unison and with “a bit more haste” on online child safety.

The digital wallet, based on the existing MyGovID online identity system, is the first step in Government plans to set an age limit for children on social media. One senior Government source on Friday night likened the age verification plan to being “akin to” the smoking ban. A pilot scheme for the wallet is planned for the first quarter of 2026.

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Mr O’Donovan will bring a memo to Cabinet early next week on his digital wallet plan. It is being designed with the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, based at the Department of Public Expenditure, and with the Department of Social Protection, which is responsible for the existing MyGovID app, the State’s official online identity platform used for social welfare payments.

It is understood that there could be scope for the same wallet to be used to verify the identity of adults for other online platforms and services.

Similar wallets are being developed in other European countries, as well as by the EU itself.

This week, Australia will become the first country in the world to impose a social media ban for children aged 16 and under.

Many European countries also favour new age limits for social media, though some feel that parents should still have the choice to allow a child aged between 13 and 16 to have a social media account.

Speaking at the British Irish Council in Wales on Friday, Mr Martin said “outright bans” for children on social media “need to be examined in considerable detail”.

He said his experience as a teacher showed him it was better to develop “self confidence and resilience” among young people.

Tánaiste Simon Harris expressed more forceful backing for regulation on Friday, saying Ireland’s existing digital age of consent was 16 and “that should matter”.

“I am very supportive of the idea of social media being restricted to people above a certain age,” Mr Harris said.

Asked whether restricting social media use for children could impact on the significant foreign investment Ireland enjoys from Big Tech, Mr Harris said: “From the perspective of the companies, the key to any business is certainty, clarity and stability.”

Digital Rights Ireland expressed concern on Friday that using the data from MyGovID or MyGovID itself to verify age and identity online was a “massive leap.”

“This would effectively make MyGovID a general purpose online ‘identity card’. It was originally intended to be used for purposes related to the State, but what is proposed here is that it be used when you use or buy a private sector service, in particular adult services,” a spokesman said.

“Do people in Ireland really want an online identity card? What purposes do they want it to be used for? What are the restrictions?”