Voice of one nation in many languages
This week, the first of 13 reports of Census 2011 has been released by the CSO.
It shines a series of lights on post-boom Ireland, dispelling some notions and confirming much that we have suspected about our fast-changing society.
We now know that almost 120,000 people speak Polish at home in Ireland compared with 82,600 speaking Irish.
We know that there are almost 2m dwellings in Ireland and that almost 15% of these — 290,000 — are unoccupied.
The census returns will be pored over by analysts and ordinary citizens. They are the product of a major effort at data collection, collation and dissemination on the part of the CSO, an organisation which now provides a wide range of other statistical services to public bodies, planners, economists and business people.
The first census was organised by the Roman Empire, with the aim of finding out the whereabouts of the young men it would require for its embattled legions.
Most European countries have run a census since the 19th century.
The first census in Ireland was carried out in the 1840s. In 1922, a statistics branch was set up in the new department of Industry and Commerce.
One of its statisticians, Roy Geary, took over as the first director of the newly formed CSO in 1949.
Geary once played football with Michael Collins. He would go on to become the top statistician at the UN before founding the ESRI in 1960.
The demands on the CSO have soared following entry to the EU and due to an increasingly sophisticated economy. Most of its functions are carried out from its base in Cork, though it also has offices in Swords and Rathmines.
In 2009, the CSO produced a major reorganisation plan. As the introduction put it: “The business of producing statistics is not static.”
It recognises that user demands and the way in which statistics are collected are constantly evolving.
The CSO has established a large cases unit to gather and supply data on the largest enterprises. It is preparing for the introduction of computer-assisted telephone interviews, which will reduce the need for house visits by data gatherers.
There is increased emphasis on information released via the internet, as well as greater use of electronic data capture techniques.
According to the CSO’s assistant director general, padraig Dalton, the moratorium on recruitment has hit the CSO hard, with many skilled people taking early retirement.
At the same time, the demand for timely statistics has soared with the onset of the recession.
The response has been to restructure in order to exploit synergies in the organisation. The CSO worked closely with AIRO, the Maynooth University-based All Ireland Research Observatory, to produce visual data as part of the Census. “We are trying to visualise the data, with maps showing population density, for example. A picture tells a thousand words. This is a big step forward. It makes data accessible to a lot of people.”
The CSO is now more process based and centred around units of experts. The organisation has had to shape up as most of its workload is, in effect, mandated by Brussels, not to mention the pressing need for timely information felt by all main players in the wider society.
Around 4,400 people were employed on the census at peak periods. The CSO has now turned its attention to a survey of wealth in Ireland, the first of its kind. This will provide valuable data for analysts to chew on.
“It will be a complicated survey,” says Dalton.
The lack of information on wealth represents a gap in the information available to policymakers. There are many who are income rich but asset poor, and vice versa. The CSO expects to publish results in Feb 2014.
All the time, information must be gathered with the protection of personal data in mind. People’s right to confidentiality must be respected. The information must be timely yet accurate, two goals that can clash.
“A huge effort was put into eliminating timelags. There is a timeliness monitor in place, helped by improvements in technology,” says Eamon Delaney of the CSO.
The CSO recently laun-ched a residential property price index. “This would not have happened, 10 or 15 years ago,” Eamon says.
ESRI economist Professor John Fitzgerald is a heavy consumer/producer of statistics.
He gives the organisation the thumbs up.
“There has been a dramatic change in the past decade. The census today is an amazing operation. They are able to publish so much in a year.”
He believes the CSO site compares favourably with that of Britain’s Office of National Statistics. It helps that the independence of the CSO has been respected by the politicians.
Timely and reliable statistics are seen as vital for the planning of schools and other public facilities.
FitzGerald is busy crunching the latest data. Despite the high headline figure for house vacancies, he is interested by the relatively low figure for the Greater Dublin area, suggesting house building may well start to pick up in the capital, at least, and in Cork city, before too long.
But he is concerned by the impact of cutbacks: “One of the top people in government accounting has retired. He is a serious loss.”
Bloxham Stockbrokers economist Alan McQuaid is concerned about some aspects of the service. “The adjustments for labour force and GDP can be quite erratic.”
However, he recognises this is an international problem. He recently met the former British chancellor, Norman Lamont, who wistfully recalled being berated after the economy went back into recession, only to discover, years later, that following a revision of the figures for that year, it turned out the economy had actually grown.!
Criticisms aside, he accepts the CSO has become more customer focused and its information more timely.
One thing seems clear. Our statisticians may not be rock stars, but they certainly do count.
* 1841: First census.n1922: The new state established statistics unit in the Department of Industry and Commerce.
* 1949: CSO founded. Roy Geary is appointed its first director.
* 1976: Census cancelled on grounds of economy. Reinstated 1979.
* 2011: Censuses are now carried out in Ireland every five years.
* Permanent staff: 706 (full-time equivalents).
* Cost of 2011 census: €53m over five years.
* Core budget: €43m to €44m per annum.
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