Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 8 May 1991

Vol. 408 No. 1

Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Employment Statistics.

John Connor

Question:

11 Mr. Connor asked the Taoiseach if his attention has been drawn to the fact that unemployment figures issued by the Central Statistics Office on individual counties are often inaccurate because the figures are compiled from registers in employment exchanges which very often contain the names of unemployed persons that live outside the county address where the exchange is located; and if he intends to request the Central Statistics Office to compile county by county employment statistics that reflect addresses from one county in the case of each county.

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach (Mr. V. Brady)

An analysis of the live register of the type described by the Deputy was carried out on a quarterly basis up to 1988. Following a general review of the set of live register analyses, this analysis was replaced from January 1989 by a monthly analysis based on area of registration.

The present area analysis gives totals of registrations in each county. It has many other advantages by comparison with the former analysis, such as (1) it is linked to the end-of-month count of the live register; (2) it has a monthly rather than a quarterly frequency; (3) details for each of the 130 local employment offices are published within ten working days of the reference date and (4) separate details on persons under and over 25 years of age registering at each local office are published.

The new monthly analysis provides, therefore, a more frequent, comprehensive and timely geographical analysis of the live register than was previously available. A copy of the results for 29 March 1991, the latest date for which the figures are available, is in the Dáil Library.

The locational information requirements for policy purposes are well served by the existing analyses of the live register and I do not intend to request the Central Statistics Office to resurrect the analysis which was discontinued from the end of 1988.

Mr. Connor

I had some difficulty in following some of the information given out by the Minister of State. He spoke at such speed that I could not assimilate what he said. The problem here is that in a county like my own where the true rate of unemployment is about 20 per cent, because of the system we get figures that reflect about half of that. Many unemployed persons are registered at Athlone employment office which is in County Westmeath, at Longford which is in County Longford and at Carrick-on-Shannon which is in County Leitrim. Would the Minister of State agree that it is totally unsatisfactory that we cannot get accurate figures for counties in planning for industries and so on? In the light of that information would he not agree that change is necessary?

Mr. V. Brady

The change to improve the system was made in 1988. Figures are also published now on a monthly basis rather than on a quarterly basis. The previous system was subject to certain deficiencies. I would add that many towns have expanded well beyond the original legal boundaries and in these cases the data in referring as it did to only part of the built-up town area, may not have been particularly useful or beneficial to anybody concerned.

Mr. Connor

That is quite irrelevant. I am asking for the total number of people unemployed on a county by county basis. Patently we are not getting that information under the present system of compilation. Perhaps the Minister of State would comment on that.

Mr. V. Brady

I would like to repeat that the information we are getting since 1988 is much more beneficial and more useful to everybody concerned. The system the Deputy refers to was tried for many years and the present system has been found to be much better.