asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he has yet arrived at any decision concerning the publication of the information relating to unemployment secured by the Census of 1926.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Unemployment Statistics.
I have already decided that the only figures relating to unemployment that would be of public value are the numbers of persons normally dependent on wage earnings who are available for and genuinely seeking work but cannot obtain it.
It will be appreciated, as I stated in the Dáil on the 19th November last, that these figures were not ascertainable directly from the replies to the Census questionnaire, and that many kinds of cross-checks must be applied to the persons who then described themselves as "out of work" before it can be decided whether they fall into the category of "unemployed" or not. All the available data are being utilised for this purpose, but the results so far are not such as to promise that sufficiently reliable information will eventually be forthcoming. While I have not given up the examination, I cannot in the circumstances name any date at which this particular Census volume is likely to appear.