Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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97. To ask the Taoiseach if the proposal to reappoint the director general of the Central Statistics Office, CSO, for a second term is in line with the code of practice for the governance of State bodies. [17205/19]

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies provides a framework for the application of best practice in corporate governance by both commercial and non-commercial State bodies. It does not apply to the CSO as the CSO is an independent statutory body which does not meet the criteria as a state agency as set out in page 9 of the Code of Practice. However, the CSO and the Government of Ireland (Commitment on Confidence in Statistics 2017) has made an undertaking to ensure compliance with the European Statistical System Code of Practice, (ESSCOP). The ESS COP is the backbone of a robust, world-class and self-regulatory quality framework which underpins the core values of Official Statistics. It sets out key principles for the production and dissemination of European official statistics and the institutional environment under which national and Community statistical authorities operate.

The Director General of the Central Statistics Office is appointed in accordance with the Statistics Act and the EU Regulation on European Statistics. The Government agreed to extend the Director General’s term of appointment on 26 February 2019 in accordance with section 12 (4) of the Statistics Act 1993, which provides that the Director General shall hold office on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Taoiseach after consultation with the Minister for Finance.

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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98. To ask the Taoiseach if his attention has been drawn to a survey of CSO staff (details supplied) that raised concerns with the director general in regard to the technical statistical skills and qualifications of certain CSO staff. [17206/19]

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Two staff surveys were conducted in the CSO in 2017.

The General Management Forum’ self-assessment survey from 2017 demonstrated that 83% of Statisticians/AP grade staff were confident that they had the skills to deliver on the core statistical requirements of the Office.

In the Civil Service Employee Engagement Survey, a score of 79% was achieved for "competence" a measure of Civil Servants belief in their ability and skills to carry out the work required in their role.

The Central Statistics Office places minimum academic requirements commensurate with the demands of the job on new entrants to the Statistician grade, specifically asking for a minimum 2.1 grade in a statistical or numerate subject. All new staff are subject to a one-year probationary period, in the course of which their technical aptitude for the role as well as their more general suitability for permanent appointment are assessed.

Corresponding essential academic requirements feature in all competitions for promotion to Senior Statistician. In addition, candidates for positions as Senior Statistician, a Divisional Manager role, are required to demonstrate the requisite level of skill across the broader range of senior management competencies associated with the Principal Officer grade, including leadership, relationship building, management and delivery of results, communication, judgement and decision making.

Empirically, the following documents the academic qualifications of current Statisticians and Senior Statisticians serving in the CSO:

All CSO Statisticians and Senior Statisticians have passed through a rigorous recruitment process, which may include short-listing, preliminary and final interview stages and every competition at this level involves the use of external Interview Board members sitting alongside CSO interviewers of relevant grade. All CSO recruitment processes are formally documented and operate in line with CPSA Codes of Practice.

As part of delivering on its strategic plan CSO 2020, published in 2013, the CSO has invested in building dedicated statistical quality (new division) and methodology teams, leading on promotion and support of quality standards and advanced methodological methods throughout the statistical business areas.

Assurance on statistical outputs is provided by line managers, as well as the Quality Management Support and Assurance (QMSA) and Methodology teams. All statistics submitted to Eurostat are subject to validation and scrutiny with additional checks arising from the Excessive Deficit Procedure and Gross National Income Audits.

The CSO invests continually in learning and development, committing to a substantial annual Learning & Development budget including a refund of fees scheme accessible to all permanent staff, and there is an open dialogue with staff members on learning needs as part of the annual business planning, objective setting and performance management processes.

The CSO maintains a staff skills register, to continuously profile the skills available within the Office, identifying gaps and supporting learning opportunities.

The CSO has developed a Statistical Training Framework which will provide training interventions to meet the 13 statistical skills headings based on the internationally recognised Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM) across the Irish Statistical System. This innovative training model is being adopted by other countries within Europe and it is also intended to make it available to other public bodies in Ireland with data analysis staff.

In early 2019, University College Dublin became the first Irish third level institution certified by the European Masters of Official Statistics(EMOS) Board of Eurostat to offer courses attracting the EMOS certification, following a lengthy period of engagement with the Central Statistics Office around the composition and delivery of such programmes. This programme will offer a further suite of skills development opportunities for statisticians and data analysts working both in the CSO and in other agencies, departments or offices working with Official Statistics.