The Data Sharing Agreement was signed on 16th of May 2018. The DSA continues an ongoing arrangement between the CSO and DEASP, whereby the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC), Household Budget Survey (HBS) and the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) data collection units are granted access by DEASP to the INFOSYS system. The agreement remains in place for a period of three years from the date of signature and must be renewed after that period, if required.
The CSO requires access to INFOSYS for the purpose of gathering and verifying PPSNs for survey respondents. PPSNs are used to link survey respondents to their income data available from administrative sources. Using income data from administrative sources facilitates the use shorter questionnaires and reduces response burden for these surveys. When income data is available from administrative sources, fewer questions regarding the respondent's income are needed on the survey questionnaires.