John Bruton
Ceist:22 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands if she will make the data used in the preparation of the 1901 census available for online publication. [1363/02]
Written Answers. - Census of Population.
The original returns of the Irish census of 1901 are more extensive than the returns of the 1901 UK census which were made available online at the beginning of this year. A project to make available for online publication the data used in the preparation of the 1901 census would be an enormous one. It would represent the largest project of its type ever undertaken by an archival institution in Ireland. While it is the hope of the National Archives that this information will eventually be made available online, it is considered by the National Archives to be beyond their current resources, both financial and otherwise.
I am advised by the National Archives that the returns of the Irish census for 1901, as well as those for the following census in 1911, have been available for public inspection in the National Archives and its predecessor body the Public Record Office of Ireland since 1961 and microfilm copies of returns for entire counties have been supplied to many county libraries and other research centres. In addition, copies of individual returns have been supplied to many thousands of individuals over many years. There has, therefore, already been a widespread dissemination of the information contained in the 1901 census returns.