Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 March 2022
1. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Taoiseach the position regarding, and reason for, the new requirements on census enumerators having to scan in barcodes on census forms; the impact this has on their workload; and if his attention has been drawn to the way this significantly increases the number of hours worked without increasing their remuneration. [16891/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Central Statistics Office (CSO) require a barcode on each census form to support the enumerator in the delivery and collection phase of the Census field operation. This barcode acts as a unique identifier for each census form delivered. The enumerator is required to scan the census form when delivering the form to a household / establishment and again when collecting the census form. Should the barcodes not match, the enumerators are required to undertake additional checks as to why a discrepancy exists. The aim of this check is to ensure each enumerator can account for all forms they delivered.
The enumerator is trained and instructed to scan the bar code using the field application. However, if the enumerator has any difficulty, they can avail of the option of typing in the 8 digit barcode. In cases where difficulties arose, further support is available to enumerators from their supervisors.
