Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Sep 2003

Vol. 571 No. 1

Written Answers. - Census of Population Records.

Eamon Gilmore

Question:

220 Mr. Gilmore asked the Taoiseach if he will consider amending the Statistics Act 1993 to permit the release of the 1926 census of Ireland, by reducing from 100 years to 70 the time limit on the release of census records; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19666/03]

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach (Ms Hanafin)

Access to individual census of population records under section 35 of the Statistics Act 1993 is a special exemption to the general prohibition in the Act on the disclosure of individual data collected for statistical purposes. The exemption was inserted in the Act in response to representations from social historians and genealogists for access to what is a unique source of information on Irish society.

The 100 year provision was adopted on the basis that very few of the persons recorded in a census would be alive 100 years after the event. In this way, the seeming contradiction between the absolute guarantee of confidentiality given during the census and the subsequent public release could be represented as a reasonable proposition. Such an approach would be difficult, if not impossible, to sustain if the limit was reduced to 70 years since it is estimated that over 10% of the enumerated population, i.e. 330,000 would be still alive. As the guarantee of confidentiality is essential to the success of the census fieldwork, the director general of the Central Statistics Office has advised against any reduction in the time limit. In these circumstances, I have no plans to review the issue at this stage.