Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister of State, Deputy Paul Kehoe, is not present - I extend sympathy to him - I am happy for the officials to take my questions and send the replies to the committee secretariat. I do not need to detain the Taoiseach any longer than is necessary. We can deal with it among ourselves when we get the replies.

My questions with regard to the CSO are as follows. The Estimate for this year is €53 million, up from €39 million last year. This is a 34% increase, which is significant. I know the Taoiseach may say the office is getting ready for the census, but there may be more to it than that. There was a report at the weekend about crime statistics not being published because of some difficulties regarding how information was recorded in the Garda Síochána Pulse information system. The CSO is getting the lion's share of the Estimate, €53 million, so we want to ensure it is well spent before the Dáil votes it through. Will the CSO send a report on what is holding the crime figures up, as well as a report on any other delayed, not finalised or unpublished statistical outputs that should in the normal course of events have been published? I know about that because I read it in the newspaper. Are there several other examples or is that an absolutely isolated case? It is often the case that some public bodies do not get the published information, and we would like to see that.

My final question relates to the market corporation test for Irish Water. The CSO is the key organisation in Ireland with a role in this. I have a reply to a parliamentary question from the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, in which he states:

The Central Statistics Office is responsible for engagement with Eurostat on such matters ... The Government remains confident that Irish Water will pass the Market Corporation Test. The decision is ultimately a matter for Eurostat.

I think the Government has a great deal invested in Irish Water being successful in the market corporation test. I would like a breakdown of the number and grades of staff and the time allocated to working on this area. I am sure it is a new area. What level of training was provided to staff who will pull the information together for the market corporation test. When does the CSO expect to complete the work? When will EUROSTAT complete its work?

I am happy that a response to these questions will be sent in writing to the committee secretariat.