Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the CSO and its role in the collection of data. The CSO collects data about our people and society. Those data are essential to informed decision-making in many industries, such as construction, healthcare and finance. as well as for European governing bodies. The data provide essential information on employment and unemployment, providing accurate quarterly labour force estimates and information on household income and expenditure. The nationwide shutdown as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the suspension of face-to-face surveys by the CSO and that has made its job very difficult. It now relies entirely on the goodwill of the public in the context of replies to written requests for information. Those replies will be crucial in recalling the effects of the pandemic on society and the economy as well as informing decision-making and policy to guide our recovery. The CSO also commissions the census, an important routine data collection service which involves a form being issued to every household. In light of the importance of these essential services, will the Government increase the amount of funding available for the advertising of these services? Doing so would inform the public on the important work of the CSO and educate us all regarding why the services it provides are imperative to the formation of public policy that affects our everyday lives.

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