Date set for Census count

The 2011 Census is set to take place on Sunday April 10.

More than 5,000 enumerators will begin the process of delivering almost two million forms to every household in the country tomorrow.

The last Census took place in 2006.

Participation is mandatory by law, and failure to complete the forms properly could result in a fine of up to €25,000.

Aiden Punch, Assistant Director General of the Central Statistics Office, insists the Census is hugely beneficial to the country.

"It's a major stock take of our population, it's really to let us know at a local, regional and national level the makeup of our population no just in terms of numbers, but in terms of their labour market participation," he said.

"It's really the only source of data at small area level and it's the only source that gives you good data on minority groupings."