There has been one statistical review of the coverage of the live register in the past ten years. The review was carried out during 1991 by an expert group established under the aegis of the Central Review Committee of the Programme for Economic and Social Progress. Its purpose was to enhance the value of the live register as a means of monitoring short term trends in unemployment on an objective statistical basis.
The effect of the changes recommended by the review group was to reduce the live register count by 5,200 as and from May 1992.
Persons opting for the pre-retirement allowance and credits schemes — PRETA and PRECS — have been excluded from the live register count since the introduction of the schemes in 1990 on the grounds that they make a declaration that they have retired from the labour market. The PRETA and PRECS schemes currently apply to persons aged between 55 and 65 years of age and at the end of February 1993 a total of 16,800 were availing of these schemes.
The categories of persons excluded from the live register arising from the most recent and previous reviews are explicitly shown by the Central Statistics Office in its monthly live register statement.