Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I wish to express the strongest concern about CACI (UK) Limited, the company administering the census under way in the State. A census gathers comprehensive sensitive and personal information about every citizen and we should ensure this information is secured by those carrying out the census and that it is in the hands of a body that has no questions marks over its integrity. CACI has serious question marks over its character and integrity on two fronts.

First, the company is linked to CACI in Virginia, in the USA, which has defence contracts with the US military relating to interrogation. Its staff were involved in interrogation in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Serious allegations of torture have been made by victims, and lawsuits are pending against the company because of its involvement in the horrendous atrocities that took place in that prison. To avoid prosecution on these matters, CACI has claimed immunity in the US on the ground that it was working for the US military. On 11 September 2009, a US court of appeal ruled that the company fell under the US military chain of command and thus has government contractor immunity. In other words, a company that is under the American military chain of command according to the US courts is organising our census. I find it worrying that such a company will have access to the most comprehensive and sensitive information about our citizens.

When this issue emerged while a census was being conducted by the company in Scotland, the Registrar General accepted there was a serious problem because the USA PATRIOT Act 2001 gives the American Government the right to demand or to take, even without its knowledge, any information it wants from any American company. The Registrar General acknowledged this was a serious problem. If the US Government wants our census information, it can simply demand it of CACI. This is aside from the company's involvement in the horrors at Abu Ghraib prison and the fact that victims of that horror are trying to take legal action but are being blocked at every level.

Amnesty International and other human rights organisations have conveyed serious concern about CACI's human rights record. This is not acceptable. What guarantees will the Government give that this comprehensive sensitive and personalised information about every citizen in the State is secure? A declaration signed by the company means nothing in the context of the USA PATRIOT Act and the abominable record of CACI. What will the Government do about this serious issue?

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I am Minister of State with responsibility for the Central Statistics Office, CSO. The 2011 census, which is being conducted on 10 April, is of significant national importance. The census results will give us the information to understand what Ireland needs for the future and will give a comprehensive picture of the social and living conditions of our people in 2011. Only a census can provide such complete detail. The results are essential tools for effective policy, planning and decision making purposes.

The census is a fundamental part of our national heritage and collective knowledge. Ireland has been conducting censuses of population since 1821. This enables us to track developments over a long period with considerable accuracy. The greatest strength of the census is the provision of detailed population figures at local level. They will help to identify likely demand for schools and health care facilities, areas of relatively high unemployment, the best location for new shops and so on. The more accurate the results, therefore, the better we can plan for the future and provide our citizens with the goods and services they need. The census is being, and always has been, conducted by the CSO, an independent statistical agency. It has always acted as an impartial voice for the country and plays a crucial role in public debate through the provision of a wide range of economic, social and environmental statistics.

As the Deputy has highlighted, CACI (UK) Limited has been awarded a contract related to the administration of the 2011 census. This includes the design and printing of the 2011 census forms, and the provision and on-site support of the hardware and software required for the scanning, capture and coding of the completed census forms. This contract was awarded following an open competitive procurement process run under EU tendering law which applies to all public bodies. CACI (UK) Limited was awarded a similar type contract for the 2002 and 2006 censuses, as well as winning the contract for census 2011. Indeed, the same company was also contracted for similar but more wide-ranging services for the census in Scotland in 2011. The company provided the best value for money for the Irish taxpayer and EU rules do not allow bidders to be excluded because they are not Irish companies.

The tendering process followed strict EU procurement rules. CSO commenced tendering for the supply of the census 2011 processing system in April 2009 and the tender was published on the e-tenders website and in the EU journal. Two tenders were received, including the one from CACI (UK) Limited. Both tenders went through three stages of evaluation. The evaluation team consisted of six senior CSO staff with an independent reviewer overseeing the process. The scoring model used to award the contract was lodged with the Department of Finance in advance of opening the tenders.

CACI (UK) Limited was awarded the contract on 30 June 2010 based on scores provided by the evaluation team. CACI (UK) Limited, the company working on the Irish census, has never provided services to the defence or intelligence sectors. Its business is solely in the supply of software solutions to public and private companies.

Some concerns have been raised about allegations made about the parent company of CACI (UK) Limited regarding human rights abuses in Iraq. These allegations have not been substantiated and investigations by CACI International and the US Government could not confirm them.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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What else would they say?

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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CACI International has stated publicly that it does not condone, tolerate or endorse any illegal behaviour by its employees in any circumstances or at any time and the company has held in the past, and always will hold, itself to the highest ethical standards. It should be noted that CACI International, the American parent company of CACI (UK) Limited, has no involvement in the Irish census contract. It is not involved in any way in the preparation or delivery of systems for the Irish census. As a public body the CSO is fundamentally committed to ethical and proper conduct in all matters and would never consider having any dealings with a company convicted of a human rights abuse.

It is also important to note that confidentiality is the cornerstone of all work conducted by the CSO. All census 2011 forms will be processed in CSO census office in Swords where information is stored on a dedicated closed CSO network wholly owned by the CSO. All information collected in the census is treated as strictly confidential by the CSO and will be used for statistical purposes. This confidentiality is guaranteed by law.

The CSO is justifiably proud of its unblemished record in protecting the confidentiality of data. It is one of its top priorities to maintain this record. Every household in the State is legally obliged to participate in the census and the wealth of information that the census provides is available for use by everyone, free of charge. Census data is used by a wide of range of organisations and individuals from central and local government, to local community groups and to our enterprise development agencies working to attract foreign direct investment, entrepreneurs and jobs into Ireland. Everybody in this House should be encouraging every household in Ireland to participate fully in the census and to visit the census website to get a feel for enormous benefits the census information will bring to Ireland over the coming years.