Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Vice Chairman for giving me the opportunity to present the Revised Estimates for the Central Statistics Office to the committee. The CSO is responsible for the collection, processing and publication of official statistics on economic, social and general conditions in Ireland. While its main focus is to meet the statistical requirements of Government, the information published by the CSO is also used by other public bodies, businesses, universities, research institutes and the general public. There is a significant international dimension to the work of the CSO. EU institutions, the IMF, OECD and other international bodies are all important users of official statistics. These bodies also have a significant role in defining standards for the compilation of comparable information. The CSO subscribes to the UN's fundamental principles of official statistics and the European statistics code of practice.

Net expenditure in 2012 amounted to €37.593 million, which included the costs of publishing the results of the 2011 census of population. A series of census reports was published in the course of 2012, including the main volumes of results and ten profile reports on key topics. All of these reports provided interpretation, analysis and illustration of the results. The CSO has also published census results in map format in co-operation with the All-Ireland Research Observatory at NUI Maynooth. The net allocation for 2013 is €39.758 million, which includes funding for a wealth survey - the first of its kind to be undertaken by the CSO - and the 2013 farm structure survey. In addition, the allocation provides funding for advance preparations for the 2015-2016 household budget survey and for the 2016 census of population. The CSO is also implementing a long-term programme of changes in the way it organises household surveys to meet future information needs as efficiently as possible.

In 2013, the CSO will publish about 300 releases and publications. All statistics are published online and members of the public are increasingly aware of and can access statistics and indicators on the social, economic and environmental issues which affect their daily lives. The CSO's statement of strategy gives priority to delivering the core statistics needed for policy while maintaining a strong focus on cost reduction. The office continues to meet all of its commitments under the public service reform programme and is implementing a programme of continuous business process improvement in the collection and processing of statistics. The CSO is taking a lead role in developing the Irish statistical system by working closely with other Departments and public bodies to promote a more coherent approach to meeting data needs and extending the statistical use of administrative data. The office is preparing standards and a code of practice on statistics to support its work with other Departments. Making better use of data throughout the public sector is an important part of public service reform and will contribute to more evidence-informed decision-making and improved measuring of policy outcomes. Improved co-ordination also contributes to reducing the burden on data providers. Between 2008 and 2011, the CSO reduced the response burden of its non-agricultural business surveys by 28%. Similarly, it has been able to remove 25 questions from the annual June agricultural survey by re-using administrative data on cattle and cereals already provided by farmers.

The CSO Vote for 2013 provides for a total of 660 staff compared with 648 staff in 2012. The small increase in staffing reflects the cyclical nature of the work of the office and the introduction of new surveys this year. The long-term trend in core staff numbers is significantly downward.

In conclusion, I commend the values and principles which inform the CSO's work. The CSO makes an important contribution to Ireland's public policy by providing a high-quality and, most importantly, independent statistical service.