Vol. 562 No. 5
101 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Taoiseach when it is expected that the Central Statistics Office will publish census figures setting out the population of the State classified by area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3387/03]
As part of its statement of strategy 2001-03, the Central Statistics Office is committed to disseminating the full range of results from the 2002 census by the end of April 2004, two years after census day.
The preliminary report of the census, which was based on summaries prepared by the enumerators, was published on 24 July 2002. It is planned to release the principal demographic results in June 2003 and to follow this up with the principal socio-economic results in September.
Individual subject matter volumes will be published between June 2003 and April 2004. The first of these volumes, on population classified by area, will be made available in July 2003. In addition to hard copy publications, all output from the 2002 census will be made available on the CSO website.
When the Minister of State was recording that Irish women live longer than Irishmen, did she notice that the health status of men and women in this State is not all it could be? Irish women have a life span that is seven years shorter than that of French women. Considering the state of the health service, this should be a matter of anxiety to her.
Is the Minister aware that the figures for population as categorised by area are available? Why is publication of these figures of national significance being delayed until July and not happening now? What is the situation regarding the redrawing of boundaries for the European election in 2004 and the next general election? These figures form the basis for the redrawing of constituencies.
Why not compare the life expectancy of Irishmen and women now to that they previously enjoyed? In 1926, when the first live tables were compiled, life expectancy was 57 years. For children born in 1996, male expectancy is 73 years and 78.5 years for females. According to statistics, the CSO's projections indicate that life expectancy will improve to 77.8 years for men and 84 years for women by 2030. Go raibh fada buan sinn go léir.
The census was 25% ahead of the timetable of the previous census in publishing documentation. The original census returns were made available to every Deputy in a preliminary report. In July the population of males and females in each constituency, as defined in the Electoral (Amendment)(No. 2) Act 1998 for elections to Dáil Éireann, and the figures for county and city local electoral areas in 2002 will be available.
Such information is not readily available at the moment. It would be premature to make any decisions on boundary commissions prior to the publication of the figures but it is evident from the preliminary results that there have been major population shifts, particularly in areas such as the west side of Dublin city, and those must be carefully considered before any decisions are made.
Have any memoranda been circulated in each Department requesting particular action on service provision or other requirements as a result of the figures related to population shifts in the preliminary report?
I am not aware of any memoranda to that effect.
Does the Minister of State agree that it would be a good idea for some direction to be given to Departments to take note of the findings and take appropriate action where necessary?
I am not aware of any memoranda but that is not to say that the work has not been done or will not be done.
Has the Minister of State been in contact with the director general of the CSO about bringing forward the date of publication of the area based population figures in view of the urgency of the matter and the improvements in technology which should make tabulation and checking of the figures much simpler and speedier than was previously the case? The CSO is a professional body.
It is not only politicians who are interested in these figures, many local authorities are contemplating the review of their development plans and these data are essential and will help identify trends that will underpin them. If the Minister of State has not already been in contact with the director general of the CSO, will she undertake to contact him to see if they can bring forward publication from July? If that is not possible, will she tell us why not?
To give credit to the CSO, 1.3 million census forms will be fully processed by the end of April. Technology has substantially facilitated the work with scanning and recognition software that was not used previously. That is why the office was ahead of itself in being able to publish preliminary results. The processing and publication times adopted are in line with best international practice and are far ahead of what was seen in Britain, where the census was carried out on 29 April 2001 but was not processed until October 2002.
I am confident that the CSO is working as fast and as efficiently as possible. It must carry on with work involving labour force statistics and household surveys that are published on a regular basis. I meet the CSO often to discuss its work and if it felt it would have the information earlier, it would make it available but I do not believe it can.
I am somewhat amazed at how quickly one's personality can slip into the orthodoxy of office and the officialdom response. I merely asked the Minister of State if she would consider asking the CSO, rather than simply taking at face value what they tell her. Of course, information technology has improved but surely a teacher of the Minister of State's renown and respect across the whole area of Dun Laoghaire would be the first to pick up the absolute contradiction of comparing apples and oranges. A state with less than four million people, as against a state with just under 60 million people, is a different mathematical or arithmetical exercise. To suggest that one can compare the two and say we are ahead of British practice is facile in the extreme.
May I repeat my request to the Minister of State? At the request of the elected Members of this House, if it is not an imposition on the Government, will she convey our desire to ascertain if it is possible for the CSO to bring forward the publication date we would like to see, rather than the date offered by it?
It is not a matter of apples and oranges but rather of showing that the CSO fulfils the best international practice. Of course I appreciate the value of it and I will be happy to ask the CSO if it is possible in the context of its time plan. In response to one of the Deputy's original questions, I have not asked that of the CSO to date but I believe the time plan it has set out, which is a very ambitious target, is the only one it considers feasible. Bearing in mind that the CSO is an independent body, I will, of course, convey the Deputy's request.
Arising from the Minister of State's reply – and without wishing to be difficult or truculent – the figures which have already been published require certain actions on the part of Government Departments at this stage. Essentially, what we are asking is whether, on the basis of the information now available to the various Government Departments, certain actions should be taken to avoid a crisis six or seven months from now, with a Bill being rushed through the House when that is totally unnecessary.
I am not quite sure where the Deputy is coming from.
It is the same question.
Yes. What we are seeing in the development of strategies and statements is an input from CSO figures. It may not be highlighted on every page that the relevant figures are obtained from the census but, obviously, no Government will produce strategies or policies without being cognisant of where people are living and the information we have available.
The information for constituency reviews must be available. Those reviews will have to take place.
In relation to the Boundary Commission, I acknowledge that there have been shifts in population and, as soon as the information becomes available, that is the next step to be considered.
The information is available now.
The Deputy should allow the Minister of State to reply.
I do not know where Deputies are getting their information. The only information we have available is the preliminary report and the CSO has advised me that it will not have the area breakdown until July. However, I will check again as to whether the CSO now believes it will have the information any earlier.
Following on from Deputy Quinn's point, which I support, when the Minister of State meets the CSO about the issues and questions raised in this regard, will she ask that, if it is possible, the area breakdown be published area by area? As well as local authorities, other bodies such as school and church authorities and many other groups are waiting with bated breath for the information which will enable them to formulate plans, sometimes involving considerable capital investment and voluntary fund raising. Will the Minister of State ask that the area statistics be published as they become available, rather than waiting for everything to be compiled and then published in one fell swoop?
I suggest that much of the information which some people would require could be gleaned from the publication already issued. That is a most useful document and, accordingly, I have circulated it to all Members. The CSO is an independent body, working in a very professional way. I am not sure the CSO would regard it as in the best interest of the overall picture to begin issuing information on a piecemeal basis.
It is clear the Minister of State has not asked the CSO the reason it has taken so long to publish this information. I welcome the fact that she will now go back to seek further information from the CSO and, presumably, to put the case which has been made in this House. Will she revert to the leaders of the Opposition parties to advise them as to the new course of action as a result of raising those issues with the CSO? In relation to the work of the Boundary Commission, how does the Minister of State envisage that work being carried out in relation to the European election and general election boundaries? Is it intended to have local election boundaries revised before the local elections in 2004? The time frame in that regard is not great, in terms of starting from July. I believe the Government has not clearly indicated the programme of work in relation to drawing up new boundaries to match population shifts.
Reverting to the House with information during Question Time is difficult for me as my questions are usually numbered from 100 upwards and are rarely reached. However, I will, of course, pass on to the Deputies any information I receive from the CSO. My remit, broad though it may be, does not extend to dealing with Boundary Commission matters and I regret I cannot advise the Deputy on that.
If I may return to an earlier reply from the Minister of State, I also had dealings with the CSO in the past. I have the utmost regard for its professionalism, the manner in which it conducts its business and, of course, its independence. However, does the Minister of State agree that times have changed and access to information is now required at a much faster level than was previously the case?
Does she also agree that, statistically, there is a practice in relation to publication of economic data whereby, at the end of a current year, provisional data for the outturn, in terms of performance, is published, with an asterisk drawing attention to the fact that these are provisional data which may be subject to correction? Accordingly, does she agree it is possible, on the basis of the provisional data, to look at the trends in emerging fields of information, including population movement? This may not have been the practice of the CSO in the past but the Minister of State could request it to bring forward the data currently available to enable local authorities and other bodies, including political parties and Government agencies, to have a snapshot look at trends in demographic movement and begin to evaluate possible alternatives, in the clear knowledge that the figures may be adjusted subsequently by 2% or 3%. The clear parameters would have been set in the publication of provisional figures. I formally request the Minister of State to consider putting the proposition to the CSO, without in any way compromising its professionalism or integrity, to release the information currently available to it and, perhaps, to publish it in electronic form if hard copy printing is a delaying factor.
That is exactly the information we have. To date, all we have is the—
Sorry, a qualification – I was referring to information on district electoral areas.
The current information, even on the overall census, is still just a preliminary report, including an asterisk note that some late returns have not been included. If we are only looking for a snapshot of general trends and indications, even on the local areas – I do not know if all Deputies have looked closely at the census report for their own constituencies and beyond – it is broken down by area. I just happened to open the page for the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown area, which has an area breakdown. From this, we can obtain trends, a snapshot picture, and indications of the population shifts. We have not got the exact, accurate information the Deputy is seeking. That is what the CSO is telling us will not be available until June. As I already said, I will revert to the CSO to ascertain its thinking in this regard.
