Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

602. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the progress being made to digitise the 1926 census; and if provision will be made for its early release. [20784/22]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is responsible for the gathering of census data in Ireland and took its first census on 18 April 1926.

The CSO has published the information gathered in the 1926 census  on its website in significant details across 10 volumes as follows:- 

- Volume 1 - Population, area and valuation of each DED and each larger Unit of Area

- Volume 2 - Occupations

- Volume 3 - Religion and birthplaces

- Volume 4 - Housing

- Volume 5 - Ages, orphanhood and conjugal conditions

- Volume 6 - Industrial status

- Volume 7 - Industries

- Volume 8 - Irish language

- Volume 9 - Dependency

- Volume 10 - General Report

Sections 33 and 35 of the Statistics Act 1993 allow for the release of information gathered by a Census that relates directly or indirectly to an identifiable person, 100 years after the date that the census was taken.  As the 1926 Census was taken on 18 April 1926, this personal information can be made available from 18 April 2026.  This information will be made available after that date, subject to GDPR concerns relating to people still living. 

Making the details of individuals and households from the 1926 Census available digitally will require a significant volume of work to collate, conserve, index and digitise the original census returns.  This work will take several years to complete and a capital allocation of €5 million has been provided for that purpose.  Officials from my Department, which includes the National Archives, have carried out preliminary examinations of the work required in this regard.