Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 22 Jun 1993

Vol. 432 No. 6

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Annual Service Inquiry.

Michael McDowell

Question:

1 Mr. M. McDowell asked the Taoiseach if, in relation to Annual Service Inquiries conducted by the Central Statistics Office under the Statistics (Service Inquiries) Order, 1993, he will make a statement on the way in which a solicitor is supposed to complete the form without expending a very considerable amount of his time and his accountant's time on the exercise; and the number of solicitors that have been asked by the Central Statistics Office to compile forms of this kind (details supplied).

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach (Mr. Dempsey)

The annual services inquiry questionnaire to which the Deputy refers is a short form containing seven questions only. It requests the minimum information required to compile the necessary statistics on the services sector for national accounts and other purposes.

The details requested are very straightforward and should be readily available from the set of accounts which solicitors would normally keep for taxation and other purposes. In fact the form has been deliberately confined to the broad accounting aggregates to ensure a quick response and minimal effort on the part of firms who have been canvassed in this inquiry.

Approximately 550 forms were issued to a sample of businesses involved in legal services. In addition, some 8,000 forms were issued to a sample of businesses in a range of other service activities.

Mr. M. McDowell

I congratulate the Labour Party on occupying such strategic positions opposite. Many people would be frightened by its numbers present today.

Proinsias De Rossa

The workers in Aer Lingus are the only people who would be frightened.

Mr. M. McDowell

Does the Minister of State accept that to extract the aggregates he mentioned would require a considerable amount of time and effort for individuals carrying on a business and that this is a harsh imposition on people who are finding it hard enough at present to make ends meet in difficult circumstances?

Mr. Dempsey

I do not accept that this is a harsh imposition. The details requested on the form are straightforward. There are seven headings, two or three of which can be filled in with little effort and the remainder of the information requested is the bare minimum necessary to make this inquiry effective. All the information, apart from the section dealing with persons engaged in enterprise and one other section, can be filled in very simply.

Mr. M. McDowell

Would the Minister agree that if those statistical surveys are carried out on a random basis it would be fair to give those who are required to fill them out some compensation for the extra cost and effort involved?

Mr. Dempsey

I do not agree with the Deputy. From time to time the State requires information for the good of the entire community. On occasions we must get the information on a compulsory basis and sometimes on a voluntary basis. It would not be a good idea to compensate people who supply information on a sample basis. This is a very straightforward extraction of information from a set of books for taxation purposes which I am sure every solicitor possesses.

Mr. Rabbitte

From more than one book in some cases.

Mr. Dempsey

The Central Statistics Office has not received any complaints from solicitors yet in regard to this inquiry.

An Ceann Comhairle

We will proceed to deal with questions nominated for priority and we should not forget the time factor involved for dealing with Priority Questions.