Michael P. Kitt
Ceist:80 Mr. M. Kitt asked the Taoiseach if he has satisfied himself with the quality of transport statistics provided to the European Commission by his Department.
Written Answers. - Transport Statistics.
In the area of transport statistics the central statistics office provides the following data to the European Commission: (i) statistics of goods carried, both nationally and internationally, by Irish registered road goods vehicles; (ii) statistics of goods carried by rail in Ireland; and (iii) general transport statistics on topics such as road traffic accidents, numbers of motor vehicles registered, port traffic, air and sea passenger numbers, size of road and rail networks.
The statistics provided under (i) are compiled from the sample road freight survey. As such they contain the normal sampling errors associated with sample surveys. Subject to this qualification the quality and accuracy of the survey estimates provided to the European Commission are considered very satisfactory.
The data supplied to the Commission under (ii) is provided by Irish Rail and fulfils all the Commission's requirements accurately.
The statistics provided under (iii) are derived from several different sources. The Central Statistics Office, usually in conjunction with the relevant source, ensures that only data of acceptable quality is forwarded to the Commission.