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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 5 Mar 2003

Vol. 562 No. 5

Ceisteanna – Questions. - Statistical Yearbook.

Trevor Sargent

Question:

100 Mr. Sargent asked the Taoiseach his views on the Central Statistic Office's Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2002 published on 20 November 2002. [1279/03]

The first edition of the new look Statistical Yearbook of Ireland was launched by the CSO in October 2001. The 2002 yearbook was published on 20 November last year. This yearbook gives a comprehensive picture of Ireland in figures up to 2001. It contains 18 chapters of statistical tables and commentary, spanning a wide range of topics. The figures are taken from the CSO's surveys but also include a wide range of information compiled by other bodies. The report also includes, in an appendix, a range of statistics on Northern Ireland. The Statistical Yearbook of Ireland is also available free on the CSO website. This is a comprehensive and very informative publication and I congratulate the CSO on it.

I too congratulate the CSO. Forgive me for jumping ahead but we are so used to having a compilation of questions that often one wonders why they are grouped together. The process is more logical in this case.

Does the Minister of State agree that there are some alarming statistics in the yearbook? What is her role in bringing the important information gathered by the hard work of the CSO to the attention of other Departments? I draw the House's attention to the total number of registered vehicles being up 60% from 1990 to 2000, with the related CO2 emissions up 106% over the same period. That is alarming from both a national and international perspective. Does the Minister of State agree that those figures should be noted and acted on?

Does the Minister of State agree that the CSO is reflecting a serious problem regarding the failure of Government policy, for example, on total energy requirements being up 74% since 1980? Of the one tonne of waste per household, one quarter is made up of packaging, which is another serious failure of our ability to get to grips with the limitations the natural world puts on our activities. What is the Minister of State's role in bringing these facts to the attention of other Departments so that they are acted on?

The Deputy will not expect me to be aware of every statistic in the book, which is 423 pages long. To each their own, and obviously everyone has a different interest. Deputy Sargent took a particular interest in the figures on energy, while I took a particular interest in the figures showing that females live at least five and a half years longer than their male counterparts. Those are the kinds of figures that jump out at one.

As I said earlier, the important thing is that the statistics are used by various Departments. What is valuable about this book is the range of information in it. It covers everything – population, education, agriculture, industry, building and construction, tourism, earnings, the environment, services and distribution. It was circulated to all Departments, which were asked to establish a national information gathering unit to ensure the statistics are collated and used properly. From my experience in the Department of Health and Children, I would be the first to admit that the collation of information has not been good and has not contributed properly to Government policy. We can use this accurate information in the future.

I take the Minister of State's point and I am glad to hear her acknowledge that there were problems in the past. What will she do to ensure there is a response and that the bad practice of the past will not continue? Is there any way to monitor the success of those Departments that have taken note of the CSO figures? Will she ask for any assessment, as she would have done in her teaching days?

Or should we just incinerate the book?

Each Department now identifies a responsible person. In the Department of the Taoiseach a senior officer is responsible for the entire statistics area. By establishing a Cabinet sub-committee to draw together all Departments, we will now see the impact of the information. It was used when devising the national children's strategy and the national spatial strategy. By using figures from the National Statistics Board, as well as from the CSO, such information has more influence on policy.

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