Vol. 426 No. 1
7 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Taoiseach when it is expected that the figures required for the revision of the Dáil constituencies will be available from the Central Statistics Office; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The population figures required by a constituency commission are the final census figures at district electoral division level. The Central Statistics Office expects to have these data available from the 1991 census for the entire country before the end of the first quarter of 1993.
Arising from the Minister's reply, will he state whether Dáil revision will take place before or after the revision of European constituency boundaries?
That is a policy decision. The question relates to another matter and should be addressed elsewhere.
Has the Minister's attention been drawn to newspaper reports last week that a commission has already been established to review Euro-constituency boundaries? Will he reconcile that fact with the commitment in the Programme for Government to the effect that the Dáil revision will take place first?
The question is statistical, but the matter raised is an area of policy not under my jurisdiction.
Will the Minister of State indicate whether the delay from the time of taking of the census to the final publication of the returns was less or greater on this occasion than in respect of previous censuses? Will he state how rapidity of information availability here compares with that on censuses in other countries on which information is available to him?
This is a separate and distinct question which I would be delighted to answer if the Deputy puts it down.
Question No. 7 concerns the availability of information and time of publication, and that is what my supplementary is about. Therefore, I do not think it is a separate question.
It is a question in relation to the 1991 census and if the Deputy puts down a question on that matter I will have no difficulty providing a reply.
This matter should not lead to argument.
When was the census taken?
In 1991.
What month?
April.
If the returns are to be published in March 1993 that means there is a 23 month delay. Is that correct.
I cannot accept that it is a delay; it is a reasonably normal time. I have not got the exact timespan in relation to other occasions, but if the Deputy is interested in that information I will provide it for him. I do not accept that this is a delay. Three preliminary census publications have issued already, but the question relates to the final census figures.
Would the Minister of State not agree that the rapidity or otherwise of the publication of census returns is a matter for which he has ministerial responsibility and, therefore, on which he should have information?
Yes, and I would give the information if I were asked that question.
