I move amendment No. 37:—
In page 17, before Section 26, to insert the following section:
"26. (1) In Section 8 of the Act of 1902, Section 14 of the Act of 1924 and in this section `last census' means the last census of population taken under the Statistics Acts, 1926 and 1946, from which statistics of population other than statistics which purport to be provisional only, published by the Stationery Office have been derived.
(2) In any application to a Court under the Act of 1902—
(a) a document purporting to be published by the Stationery Office and to be compiled by the Central Statistics Office and to contain statistics of population derived from a census of population taken under the Statistics Acts, 1926 and 1946, other than statistics which purport to be provisional only, or to contain statistics derived from the census taken in the year 1901, shall be evidence, until the contrary is proved, of the matters relating to statistics of population stated in the document,
(b) a certificate purporting to be signed by the Director, or other person for the time being in charge, of the Central Statistics Office and to certify that the census referred to in a document of the kind specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection is the last census and, either, that no later census has been taken or that statistics of population derived from a later census, other than statistics that purport to be provisional only, will not be published during the two months immediately following the date on which the certificate is given, shall, without proof of the signature of the person purporting to sign the certificate or that he was the Director, or for the time being in charge, of the Central Statistics Office, be evidence, until the contrary is proved of the matters certified in and by the certificate,
(c) a certificate purporting to be signed by the Director, or other person for the time being in charge, of the Central Statistics Office and containing statistics of population and purporting to certify that the statistics are derived from the last census and, either that no later census has been taken or that statistics of population derived from a later census will not be published during the two months immediately following the date on which the certificate is given, shall. without proof of the signature of the person purporting to sign the certificate or that he was the Director, or for the time being in charge, of the Central Statistics Office, be evidence, until the contrary is proved, of the matters relating to statistics contained in the certificate and of the matters certified in and by the certificate, and
(d) a certificate purporting to be signed by the Director, or other person for the time being in charge, of the Central Statistics Office and containing statistics of population and purporting to certify that the statistics are derived from the census taken in the year 1901 shall, without proof of the signature of the person purporting to sign the certificate or that he was the Director, or for the time being in charge, of the Central Statistics Office, be evidence, until the contrary is proved, of the matters relating to statistics contained in the certificate and of the matters certified in and by the certificate."
This is an amendment to replace the present Section 26 by a more comprehensive one. The idea of the section is to obviate the need for applicants for new licences in urban areas bringing along officers of the Central Statistics Office to give formal proof of population figures that may already be officially published or that can equally well be given in a written certificate from the Director of the Statistics Office. The attendance of the officer is, of course, only a formality unless the figures are challenged, but it not only involves inconvenience for the Statistics Office but expense for the applicant.
The amendment is more comprehensive in that it applies the new procedure not only to current statistics but to the 1901 census which is the "base" year with which comparison is made—the reason for that, of course, being that that was the last census before the general ban was put, by the 1902 Act, on the issue of new licences.
I understand that it is the intention of the Statistics Office, if possible, to publish, for the convenience of applicants, both the 1901 figures and "current" figures for civil parishes on the outskirts of Dublin and possibly the other County Boroughs. Apart from these areas demand is very small and in most cases non-existent but, of course, a special compilation will continue to be made where necessary.