Memorandum of Understanding between the Central Statistics Office and the Department of Education and Youth

Memorandum of Understanding between the Central Statistics Office and the Department of Education and Youth in relation to the provision of Education data for the compilation of official statistics

This Memorandum of Understanding is made on the 27^th of August 2025 between the Central Statistics Office, Skehard Road, Cork, T12 X00E. (the CSO) and The Department of Education and Youth (DEY)

Establishment of the Parties

The Central Statistics Office was established in 1949 and became a statutory body in 1994, under the Statistics Act, 1993.

The Department of Education and Youth was formed under the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924.

The Role of the Parties

The functions of the Central Statistics Office are set out in the Statistics Act, 1993. In particular Section 10 states that 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. 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 and has the authority to assess the statistical potential of the records maintained by public authorities and to ensure that the potential is realised. Furthermore, the CSO has legal obligations regarding the development, production and dissemination of European statistics under Regulation (EC) No. 223/2009 of 11 March 2009.

The Department of Education and Youth’s mission is to facilitate children and young people, through learning, to achieve their full potential and contribute to Ireland’s social, economic and cultural development. The Department of Education is a ministerial department, supported by various agencies and aegis bodies.

Context and Background

Data provided to the CSO under this agreement shall be treated as strictly confidential, and used solely for statistical purposes. This shall be done in accordance with the Statistics Act, 1993, in particular section 30 which deals with access to and use of the records of Public Authorities for statistical purposes.

Purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding

The purpose of this MoU is to clarify the roles and responsibilities of, as well as the areas of cooperation between, CSO and the DEY with regard to the transmission and use of the DEY data.  

This agreement is a MoU and is not intended to create binding or legal obligations on either Party. The MoU is entered into on the understanding that it is subordinate to the relevant legislation governing each Party.

This MoU also sets out a shared understanding of the parties in relation to data protection issues that may arise and roles relating to the compilation, transfer and use of this data. The processing of personal data of data subjects is governed by the Statistics Act, 1993 and the Data Protection Acts 1988-2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation.

Responsibilities of each Party

The data controller for personal data is the DEY.  When the data is transferred to the CSO, the CSO becomes the data controller. It follows then that it is the responsibility of the CSO to report any data breaches relating to the data, once it is in their possession. 

In the event of a breach relating to data the CSO will inform the Data Protection Officer of the DEY and also inform the DEY of the breach through the JLG. In addition, the CSO will refer to their own data breach procedures and may report the breach to the Data Protection Commission as appropriate. The DEY will not be held responsible for any loss, damage or injury caused as a result of such a breach. 

In the event of a breach relating to data the CSO will inform the DEY through the JLG, in advance, of any decision to issue a public statement in relation to the breach. Similarly, the DEY will inform the CSO through the JLG, in advance, of any decision to issue a public statement in relation to the breach.  

The DEY will not provide additional data or operational support in respect of the notification of data subjects in the event of a breach relating to CSO data.

Legal Background

Transfer and processing of the data shall be done in accordance with the Act, the 2018 Act, the 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 transfer and processing of the data is covered by, inter alia, the following provisions:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Section 13 of the Act, concerning the statistical independence of the Director General of the CSO;
• Sections 30 and 31 of the Act, concerning the use of the records of public authorities for statistical purposes;
• Sections 32 and 33 of the Act, concerning the protection of information;
• Article 6(1)(c) of the GDPR, concerning processing necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject;
• Article 6(1)(e) of the; GDPR, concerning processing necessary for the exercise of official authority vested in the CSO;
• Article (9)(2)(j) of the GDPR; concerning processing of special categories of personal data necessary for statistical purposes;
• Article 89 of the GDPR, concerning safeguards and derogations relating to processing for statistical purposes;
• Section 42 of the 2018 Act, concerning processing for statistical purposes;
• Section 54(c) of the Data Protection Act 2018.

Data transfer, Security and Data storage

Data will be provided on an annual basis unless otherwise agreed between the two parties. The files will be transferred by Secure File Transfer Protocol.

Data will be retained, securely stored and processed by the CSO in accordance with CSO and ADC Data Policies. 

DEY will provide the CSO with the data in an agreed format. Information on data formats and delivery frequency shall be provided by the DEY in respect of the data files schedule. In accordance with CSO policies on the control of data the CSO will not copy this data onto removable media (including laptop computers) unless appropriate security provisions are in place (i.e., encryption and password access) and there is an agreed business need to do so, in which case the CSO will inform DEY of such need via the JLG.

Joint Liaison Group

A DEY and CSO Joint Liaison Group (JLG) will be convened, in accordance with the CSO’s standard Data Governance Framework. The JLG will oversee the data sharing as agreed between the parties and summarised in this MoU. 

The Terms of Reference (ToR) for the JLG will be agreed between the Department of Education and Central Statistics Office. The ToR will cover, amongst other things, membership of the JLG, frequency of meetings and scope of the JLG. Changes to the ToR must be jointly agreed by both parties.

Duration and Review of the Memorandum of Understanding

This MoU will be published on the CSO website (www.cso.ie) and the DEY website.

This MoU will remain in force until a new one is entered into or either the CSO or the DEY revoke it. Depending on events, this MoU may be amended, subject to the mutual agreement of the DEY and CSO.

This MoU will be reviewed biennially by the both the DEY and the CSO. Any changes to the MoU shall only be made with the mutual agreement of the DEY and CSO.

Signed:

Jennifer Banim

Director General

Central Statistics Office
 
Date: 27/08/2025

Signed:

Bernie McNally

Secretary General

Department of Education and Youth

Date: 17/07/2025