Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 September 2014
209. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the proportion of current illicit trade in the latest growth figures in view of the new European Union accounting procedures which were introduced here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37124/14]
View answerThe European statistical agency, Eurostat, has agreed recommendations on the estimation and recording of illegal economic activities in recent years and, with effect from September 2014, requires Member States to include estimates for illegal economic activities in the National Accounts. Section 13 of the 1993 Statistics Act provides that the Director General of the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has sole responsibility for, and is independent in, the exercise of the functions of deciding the statistical methodology and professional statistical standards used by the Office, as well as the content of statistical releases and publications issued by the Office. Of course there are considerable challenges facing the CSO in accurately measuring illicit activities. I am informed by the CSO that statisticians use any available data that can produce a repeatable estimate for these activities over time. The illegal nature of these activities makes it particularly difficult to estimate their level and value. Consequently, the estimation methods used can only be expected to deliver approximations of the actual levels and value of activity. Data are obtained from a range of sources, including the Gardaí and organisations involved in the welfare of prostitutes or drug addicts. International research in these matters is also reviewed by the CSO.
Estimates of the impact of the inclusion of these activities are available on the CSO s website (see link below) and were first included in the national income and expenditure release for early July. They have been estimated at around 0.7 per cent of GDP over the last number of years. While the inclusion of these activities increases the estimates of the level of GDP they do not necessarily have an impact on year-on-year growth rates. http://www.cso.ie/en/newsandevents/pressreleases/2014pressreleases/implementingnewinternationalstandardsfornationalaccountsandbalanceofpaymentsstatistics/
