Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move the following Revised Estimate:

Vote 4 — Central Statistics Office (Revised Estimate)

That a sum not exceeding €82,081,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2016, for the salaries and expenses of the Central Statistics Office.

The Central Statistics Office, CSO, is responsible for the collection, processing and publication of official statistics on the economic, social and general conditions in Ireland. While the main focus is to meet statistical requirements of Government, information published by the CSO is also used by other public bodies and by businesses, universities, research institutes and the general public.

There is a significant international dimension to the work of the CSO. The EU institutions, the IMF, the OECD and other international bodies are all important users of official statistics. These bodies also have a significant role in defining and monitoring standards for the compilation of comparable information and the CSO subscribes to the standards set out in the UN fundamental principles of official statistics and the European statistics code of practice.

The net allocation in 2015 amounted to €52.836 million and included preparatory funding for the 2016 census of population. The net allocation for 2016 is €82.081 million. The allocation provides funding for core outputs for the additional significant projects including the 2015-16 household budget survey and the 2016 census of population.

The CSO is also implementing a long-term programme of changes in how it organises household surveys so that it can meet future information needs as efficiently as possible. In 2016 the CSO will publish approximately 300 releases and publications. All of these statistics are published online and members of the public are increasingly aware of, and able to access, statistics and indicators on the social, economic and environmental issues that affect their daily lives. The CSO’s statement of strategy gives priority to delivering the core statistics needed for policy, while keeping a strong focus on cost reduction. The office continues to meet all its commitments under the public service reform programme and is implementing a programme of reform and 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. It has developed a code of practice for the Irish statistical system and is strongly promoting the development a national data infrastructure, which will provide for better co-ordination and greater exploitation of the rich data sources that are available across the system.

It will also lead to a greater understanding of the importance of data in supporting policy and decision-making and delivering efficiencies in public service provision.

Making better use of data throughout the public sector is an important part of public sector service reform. It contributes to more evidence-informed decision-making and better measurement of policy outcomes. Better co-ordination and greater use of administrative data contributes to reducing the burden on data providers. Since 2008, the CSO has continued to reduce the response burden of its non-agricultural business surveys. When measured from 2008 to 2014, the burden was decreased by 38.8%. This means the target reduction over this timeframe was exceeded by 25%. The CSO Vote for 2016 provides for a total of 843 staff. This represents an increase from 715 in 2015 and reflects the cyclical nature of the work of the office on the census of population. I commend the values and principles which inform the work of the CSO, which makes an important contribution to Ireland's public policy by providing a high-quality and, more importantly, independent statistical service.

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