Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)

Would the Minister of State agree that there was general acceptance of the accuracy of the census figures and that this matter would not have arisen at all were it not for his colleague's publicly made statement that they were rubbish? Has the Minister of State talked to the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, about this or instructed him on the accuracy of the figures, if he is satisfied as to their accuracy? Did he check whether the Minister of State, Deputy Lenihan, in fact had some special information that was not available to the Minister of State and the CSO?

While I am on my feet I will ask another question. How did the enumerators deal with gated communities? As somebody who likes calling to people's houses, I have found no method of reaching people who are inside the gates, especially in blocks that have swipe-card entrances. If there is a button, one can pester them long enough for them to come out, but I do not know how the census enumerators count these people. Did they leave them out and guess how many were inside? Usually there are only one or two people in each unit. I did not see any sign of large families.

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