Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 3 June 2021
Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach
Estimates for Public Services 2021 (Resumed)
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 4 - Central Statistics Office (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (Revised)
Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source
I can go into some detail on that. The census is a large-scale field operation that involves more than 5,000 staff and a number of visits to every household over a ten-week period. The success of the census requires the co-operation of every household. The decision to postpone it was not taken lightly. As the Deputy will appreciate, foremost in that decision was the safety of the public and the field staff.
The census of population is a major logistical challenge and will commence in 2022. There will be technological advances, which are referenced in one of the subheads.
In subhead 4 the technological advances relate to the census management system, which is in the fieldwork itself. What is being explored specifically in terms of an online census is for 2026. That is the distinction earmarked. A census case management system will be used. The Deputy will see some of the detail on that in subheads 4 and 5. That is related specifically to the fieldwork and the 5,000 plus people who will be involved in it. The online response facility will be considered in respect of the 2026 census which, as the Deputy knows, will be 100 years since the first State census, so it is really important.
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