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83% of us consider ourselves to be in good health.
How do we know this? Because you told us.

The facts we get directly from you are used to make policy decisions, so if you are asked to take part in one of our household surveys, please do.

The CSO is the official, impartial collector and distributor of statistics about Ireland. In addition to the Census, we also regularly undertake general and specific surveys of households and individuals.

Every week CSO interviewers conduct surveys in over 3,000 households, all through the year, talking to people and gathering information from households throughout the country. These surveys give us a very accurate picture of the economic and social situation of the citizens of Ireland, in a way and with a level of detail that no one else can gain.

The information provided by people throughout Ireland helps us to measure employment and unemployment accurately; to provide quarterly labour force estimates; to enable us to produce a number of key national poverty indicators such as the ‘at risk of poverty rate’ and ‘rate of enforced deprivation’; to measure income and expenditure and to publish data on social topics. Such information is vital when making policy decisions that will affect all of us.

‌Why you should take part in CSO household surveys

Taking part in our surveys is very important because we get all our facts directly from you, so that when we quote figures you know they’re accurate, because you told us.

If you are asked to take part in a CSO survey, why should you say yes?

The CSO is the official, impartial collector and distributor of statistics about Ireland. We regularly take general and specific surveys of households, individuals and businesses.

Taking part in our surveys is very important because we get all our facts directly from you, so that when we quote figures you know they’re accurate, because you told us.

Who uses the information?

The information and facts we gather are used by people, businesses, local and national government to make policy decisions and to plan for everyone’s future in Ireland.

Is my personal information confidential?

Absolutely. The Statistics Act, 1993 sets stringent confidentiality and data protection standards – data can be used for statistics only: no details that might identify a person or business can be given to any government department or body. That means we will never share your personal details with anyone, including any government department or office. Ever.

So, if you are asked to take part in one of our surveys, rest assured that everything you tell us is very important but totally confidential.