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This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is made on the 12 day of March 2025 between the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Skehard Road, Cork, T12 X00E and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Agriculture House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, 002 WK12.
CSO Central Statistics Office
DAFM Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
EAA Economic Accounts for Agriculture
EASS European Agricultural Statistical System
FSDN Farm Sustainability Data Network
GDPR General Data Protection Regulation
MoU Memorandum of Understanding
NFS National Farm Survey
RMF Research Microdata File
SAIO Statistics on Agricultural Input and Output
The 'Act' The Statistics Act, 1993
The '2018 Act' The Data Protection Act, 2018
The 'Department' Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
The 'Office' Central Statistics Office
3.1 The objective of this MoU is to set out areas of mutual responsibility, cooperation, and shared interest between the CSO and DAFM in the relation to the Office's collection and use of departmental administrative data for statistical purposes.
3.2 A number of data files are currently provided by DAFM to the CSO in accordance with the Statistics Act 1993 (the 'Act'). These files contain data at the level necessary for the CSO to meet compulsory European statistical regulatory demands and also to meet national user needs in relation to the Office's production of specific statistical products.
3.3 The CSO shall ensure that all administrative data requested of DAFM are necessary and proportionate, having regard to the statistical outputs which need to be produced.
3.4 DAFM acknowledges the requirement for the CSO to continue to receive files requested under the Act. The specific data to be transmitted, data format, frequency of transmission, timelines and the method of transfer are detailed in Annex 1.
3.5 Access to the administrative data supplied by DAFM will be restricted to CSO personnel involved in the production of statistics. Data files provided by DAFM to the CSO will be deleted by the CSO when they are no longer needed for statistical production.
3.6 The MoU has been prepared in line with the recommendations of the National Statistics Board in its Strategic Priorities for Official Statistics 2021-2026, additionally it is consistent with EU and Irish government policies in seeking to reduce administrative burden. In this connection, of the European Statistics Code of Practice states that “administrative sources are used whenever possible to avoid duplicating requests for information”.
3.7 The MoU is entered into on the understanding that it is subordinate to the relevant legislation, set out below under ‘Legal Background’ governing each party.
4.1.1 The CSO was established in 1949 and became a statutory body in 1994, under the Act. The CSO is an independent Office. Its Director General has sole responsibility in relation to professional statistical matters. The CSO's mission is to provide high quality information, both for evidence based decision-making and to support accountability.
4.1.2 The CSO's Mandate is built on the Act and Regulation 223/2009.
4.1.3 The functions of the Office are the collection, compilation, extraction, and dissemination for statistical purposes of information relating to economic, social, and general activities and conditions in the State.
4.1.4 The Office has the authority to co-ordinate official statistics compiled by public authorities to ensure, in particular adherence to statistical standards and the use of appropriate classifications. The Office also has the authority to assess the statistical potential of the records maintained by public authorities and, in conjunction with them, to ensure that this potential is realised in so far as resources permit. These functions are as detailed in Section 10 of the Act.
4.2 DAFM
The Department of Agriculture (now the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)) was established in 1919, with its statutory basis laid down in the Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1924. DAFM's mission according to its current Statement of Strategy (2023-2026) is "to lead, enable and regulate the sector in a way that optimises its contribution to social, economic and environmental sustainability''.
5.1 A comprehensive list of the data being shared can be found at Annex , which details data file names, frequency of transfer, transmission deadlines, reasons for transfer, legal bases, CSO data classification, indications to personal data, and relevant DAFM contact Divisions.
6.1 The transfer and processing of data is subject, inter alia, to the following provisions:
6.1.1 Section 10(1) of the Act, concerning the functions of the CSO in the collection, compilation, extraction, and dissemination for statistical purposes of information relating to economic, social, and general activities and conditions in the State;
6.1.2 Section 10(2) of the Act, concerning the authority of the CSO as regards co-ordination of official statistics compiled by public authorities and in ensuring, in particular, adherence to statistical standards and the use of appropriate classifications;
6.1.3 Section 10(3) of the Act, concerning the authority of the CSO to assess the statistical potential of the records maintained by public authorities and, in conjunction with them, to ensure that this potential is realised;
6.1.4 Section 13 of the Act, concerning the statistical independence of the Director General of the CSO;
6.1.5 Section 11 of the Act, concerning co-operation and liaison with other public authorities and persons;
6.1.6 Section 24(1) of the Act, concerning invitation to provide information on a voluntary basis;
6.1.7 Section 24(2) of the Act, as amended by Section 178 of the Data Protection Act, 2018 (the '2018 Act'), concerning the provision of information to the CSO;
6.1.8 Sections 30 and 31 of the Act, concerning the use of the records of public authorities for statistical purposes;
6.1.9 Article 6(1)(c) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), concerning processing necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject;
6.1.10 Article 6(1)(e) of the GDPR, concerning processing necessary for the exercise of official authority vested in the CSO;
6.1.11 Article 89 of the GDPR, concerning safeguards and derogations relating to processing for statistical purposes;
6.1.12 Sections 32 and 33 of the Act, concerning the protection of information;
6.1.13 Section 42 of the 2018 Act, concerning processing for statistical purposes;
6.1.14 Article 9(2)0) of the GDPR, concerning processing of special categories of personal data necessary for statistical purposes, and;
6.1.15 Section 54(1)(c) of the 2018 Act, concerning processing of special categories of data for statistical purposes.
6.2 No material will be published in such a way that information relating to any particular land, business, or person can be inferred from it, for example:
- no statistical information based on fewer than five individuals, holdings, or businesses, nor other material which enables such figures to be deduced will be published, and;
narrative statements, which may contain data that allows individuals to be identified, will not be published.
6.3 Each party will be responsible for their own GDPR transparency requirements.
7.1 Most of the agriculture statistics produced by the CSO, using and enabled by DAFM administrative data, are in fulfilment of the requirements of a number of European statistical regulations and support the European Agricultural Statistical System (EASS).
7.2 The EASS covers more than 50 datasets that are transmitted to Eurostat by the CSO or other national authorities. It consists of seven statistical domains: structural data, agri-monetary statistics, crop production, organic farming, permanent crops, animal products and livestock, and agri-environmental indicators. In addition, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development manages the Farm Sustainability Data Network (FSDN), a survey that, while not officially part of EU statistics, is closely linked to the EASS.
7.3 In December 2022, a regulation on statistics on agricultural input and output (SAIC) was published in the European Union's Official Journal. This regulation and associated implementing regulations are designed to modernise agricultural statistics and align them with changes in the Common Agricultural Policy, the Farm to Fork Strategy, and other related EU policies.
7.4 The SAIC framework covers the production of official statistics on agriculture prices, crop and animal production, and plant protection products and nutrients, with an added focus on organic produce.
7.5 The Integrated Farm Statistics regulation provides for the collection of European agricultural statistics at farm-level and provides a series of relevant definitions. It requires that Member States carry out integrated farm surveys in 2020, 2023 and 2026 for the collection of core structural data. This regulation also covers the Census of Agriculture.
7.6 The Economic Accounts for Agriculture (EAA) regulation provides for a system of statistics and a common methodology that analyses agricultural production and the income it generates, as well as measuring the value of total agricultural output. The EAAs are satellite accounts of the European system of national and regional accounts.
8.1 Transfer and processing of the data shall be done in accordance with Act, 2018 Act, GDPR, EU law, and in accordance with the CSO's Code of Practice, in particular its protocol on data matching where one or more datasets originate from outside of the CSO. The data will be managed such as to ensure that appropriate security arrangements are in place and regularly reviewed and that retention and deletion, and suitable destruction are subject to ongoing monitoring.
8.2 DAFM will provide the CSO with the data using in adherence to the specifications indicated at Annex . The CSO shall not copy this data onto removable media (including removable memory media and/ or laptop computers) unless appropriate security provisions are in place e.g., encryption/ password access and there is an agreed business need to do this.
9.1 The CSO maintains a protocol for data matching. All linking of the datasets shall be done in accordance with this protocol and documented on the CSO website.
9.2 The CSO assists Teagasc in the sample selection procedure for the National Farm Survey (NFS). Teagasc has conducted the NFS on an annual basis since 1972. The survey is operated as part of the FSDN and fulfils Ireland's statutory obligation to provide data on farm output, costs, and income to the European Commission under certain European Union Regulations. Subject to the confidentiality provisions set out at Section 33 of the Act, the CSO provides Teagasc with an annual list of replacement farms in order to maintain an adequate sample size for the NFS. This list contains farmer's name, address, farm size category, and farm type category at the individual farm level. The CSO uses DAFM Administrative Data as well as CSO agriculture census and survey data to select the NFS replacement farms. The CSO and Teagasc maintain a separate MoU which governs use, within Teagasc and by designated Officers of Statistics only, use of this data exclusively for statistical purposes.
9.3 Research Microdata Files (RMF) derived from the data provided to the CSO may be made available, under strictly controlled conditions, to members of the research community. This is done under the CSO's RMF policy, which maintains confidentiality while maximising the use and value of the data.
9.4 The personal data provided by DAFM to the CSO will not be used for purposes beyond those outlined in this agreement, unless there is a clear legal basis to do so.
10.1 The controller for personal data is DAFM. When the data is transferred to the CSO, the CSO becomes the controller of the data file it holds. DAFM remains the controller for the data file that it holds. It follows then that it is the responsibility of the CSO to report any data breaches relating to the data it holds.
10.2 In the event of a breach relating to CSO-DAFM data, the CSO will inform the Data Protection Officer of DAFM by emailing data.protection@agriculture.gov.ie and inform the relevant DAFM business Division, Economics and Planning, of the breach by emailing economicsandplanning@agriculture.gov.ie. This notification will be made within 24 hours. In addition, the CSO will refer to their own data breach procedures and report the breach to the Data Protection Commission as appropriate. DAFM will not be held responsible for any loss, damage or injury caused as a result of such a breach.
10.3 In the event of a breach relating to CSO-DAFM data, the CSO will inform DAFM as above, in advance, of any decision to issue a public statement in relation to the breach. Similarly, DAFM will inform the CSO, in advance, of any decision to issue a public statement in relation to the breach.
11.1 The Agricultural Statistics Liaison Group shall continue as a formal high-level mechanism for consultation and communication between both Offices.
11.2 The Forest Statistics Liaisons Group shall continue as a formal high-level mechanism for consultation and communication on forest statistics between both Offices.
11.3 The CSO and DAFM shall each appoint two administrative data liaison officers to act as the points of contact between the two organisations. CSO appointees will be of at least the Statistician grade. The DAFM appointees will be of at least the Assistant Principal Officer or Forestry Inspector (Grade 1) grade or equivalent.
11.4 It shall be the responsibility of the liaison officers to consider all matters relating to the operation of this MoU.
11.5 The liaison officers shall meet on at least one occasion each year and the meeting shall be chaired alternately by CSO and DAFM.
12.1 This MoU will be published on the CSO website (cso.ie) and the DAFM website (qov.ie/en/organisation/department-of-aqriculture-food-and-the-marine/).
12.2 This MoU will come into force on the date of signing and will remain in force until a new one is entered into or either the CSO or DAFM revoke it. Depending on events, this MoU may be amended, subject to the mutual agreement of DAFM and CSO.
12.3 This Mou will be reviewed biennially by both DAFM and the CSO. Any changes to the MoU shall only be made with the mutual agreement of DAFM and CSO.
Signed: Jennifer Banim
CSO Director General
Date: 12/03/2025
Signed: Brendan Gleeson
DAFM Secretary General
Date: 03/03/2025