Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Can the Minister of State indicate to what extent public advertisement was employed by the Central Statistics Office in announcing the public consultation process on the construction of the census documents in advance of next year's census, which he has indicated will take place on 10 April 2011? How extensive was that trawl and what was the extent of the response? Was the HSE invited to offer its opinion, particularly with regard to the pilot census document? I have one of those documents but I think the Minister of State indicated there were two. Will he clarify whether two different types of forms were employed in the pilot census in 2009 or the pilot data collection process undertaken?

In the document I have, it has blindness, deafness or severe vision or hearing impairment down as one question whereas the document to which the Minister of State referred had separate questions. I suggest the form to which he referred is eminently more sensible than one where the information is all together because it is difficult to understand how one can inform the Government and policy makers of the critical need by placing blindness and deafness in the one category.

We have had a health section in the pilot survey of 2009. Can we, therefore, look forward to a more elaborate health section intended to gather an even greater amount of information in the 2011 census form? Has the CSO considered the possibility of including questions on more specific and more widespread conditions such as diabetes and asthma? Would it not be a worthwhile exercise to inform policy makers of the extent or prevalence of diabetes and asthma in society and is this not the ideal way to establish the full facts about these prevalent conditions in society? Can the Minister of State indicate whether the HSE has been involved in the consultation process? If so, what was the result of that consultation and what was the result of any other consultation with regard to the health area? Does the Minister of State accept that more specific questions regarding health would be useful in helping to determine health care needs and planning required in terms of health care systems and supports?

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