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Census 2016

A Census of Population was taken on the night of Sunday, 24 April 2016, in accordance with the Statistics Act 1993 and the Statistics (Census of Population) Order 2015 (S.I. No. 445 of 2015).  The Statistics (Census of Population) Order 2015 was made by An Taoiseach in pursuance of powers conferred on him by section 25 (1) of the Statistics Act 1993 (No. 21 of 1993). A link to the census questionnaire is available at 2016 Census Forms.

Coverage of the Census

The census figures relate to the de facto population i.e. the population recorded for each area represents the total of all persons present within its boundaries on the night of Sunday, 24 April 2016, together with all persons who arrived in that area on the morning of Monday, 25 April 2016, not having been enumerated elsewhere.  Persons on board ships in port are included with the population of adjacent areas. The figures, therefore, include visitors present on Census Night as well as those in residence, while usual residents temporarily absent from the area are excluded.

The date of the census was chosen to coincide with a period when passenger movements were at a minimum and, consequently, the figures closely approximate to those for the normally resident population. Members of the Defence Forces who, on Census Night, were serving abroad with the United Nations were excluded from the enumeration.

Conduct of the Census

A temporary field force consisting of 6 Census Liaison Officers, 44 Regional Supervisors, 430 Field Supervisors and some 4,663 part-time Enumerators carried out the census enumeration. During the four weeks before Census Night the enumerators entered details in respect of 2 million private residences and communal establishments in their enumerator record books. They simultaneously delivered blank census questionnaires to 1.7 million of these dwellings that were expected to be occupied on Census Night. Approximately 250,000 residences were vacant at the time of the census, while in the remaining cases the household was either enumerated elsewhere or temporarily absent from the State. The collection of completed questionnaires took place between Monday 25 April and Sunday 22 May, 2016.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) wishes to record its appreciation of the public-spirited co-operation received from households and the dedication and commitment displayed by the census field force.

Production of Results

Each enumerator first prepared and returned to the CSO a summary of the population of his/her enumeration area. These summaries formed the basis for the preliminary 2016 census results published in July 2016. The completed questionnaires for individual households were subsequently transported to the CSO for processing. The population summaries, dwelling listings and enumeration maps for individual enumeration areas were checked for consistency and used to determine the boundaries of census towns and suburbs. The capture and processing of the responses to questions on the questionnaires proceeded concurrently. 

Place of Work, School or College Census of Anonymised Records (POWSCAR)

Anonymised census records relating to persons at work and students who were enumerated and usually resident in Ireland are available to bona fide researchers for the purposes of research on commuting patterns etc. Where the application is granted the researcher will be signed up as an Officer of Statistics.  POWSCAR is described in Sections 2 and 3.

Application to Use 2016 POWSCAR

POWSCAR data is only available to bona fide researchers who are approved by CSO and signed up as Officers of Statistics. All appointments as an Officer of Statistics are for one year. Should the research require, a new application can be made for additional period(s) of one year. All material proposed for publication which has been derived from POWSCAR must be approved in advance by CSO.

Application to access POWSCAR microdata must be made using the microdata application forms on the CSO Researcher Online System for Applications (ROSA) where details on the Research Microdata File (RMF) Policies are also available.

Where the application is approved, all researchers accessing the data will be required to sign a declaration making them Officers of Statistics under the Statistics Act 1993, agreeing to be bound by the confidentiality provisions of the Act. There are severe penalties under the Act for divulging confidential data.

Contact Details

For further information on the data content, please contact:

Census Enquiries Section
Central Statistics Office
Swords Business Campus
Balheary Road
Swords
Co. Dublin

Phone: (+353) 1 895 1300
E-mail: census@cso.ie
www.cso.ie

For further Researcher Online System for Applications (ROSA) or maps, please contact:

Researcher Coordination Unit
Central Statistics Office
Ardee Road
Rathmines
Dublin 6

Email: rcu@cso.ie
www.cso.ie

For further information on Digital Boundaries or maps, please contact:

Tailte Éireann Surveying (Public Office)
Phoenix Park
Dublin 8
D08 F6E4

Phone: (+353) 1 802 5300
https://www.tailte.ie/ or https://osi.ie/contact-us/

POWSCAR Scope

The Place of Work, School or College Census of Anonymised Records cover persons who were enumerated and usually resident in Ireland on Census Night. Persons enumerated in both private dwellings and communal establishments were included. The file specifically excludes visitors who indicated they were usually resident elsewhere abroad in Question 7 on the census form.

The category student covers persons aged 5 to 14 and persons aged 15 and over who indicated they were students by ticking box 4 on Question 27 on the census form which requests the person’s present principal status.

Place of Work, School or College Coding

The location of the Place of Work, School or College was coded for each person on the basis of the reply to Question 34.

Where the person ticked box 1 or 2 on Question 34 the place of work, school or college was automatically defaulted to W/M (W=Works mainly at or from home; M=No fixed place of work). Otherwise the employer/school name and address was matched against addresses on the An Post GeoDirectory. In the case of workers, where the coder could not find an exact match they coded to a near match, if they could find a GeoDirectory address on the same street or in the same town as the address stated on the form. In the case of students, an exact match was only accepted for the school or college address. The Irish National Grid matched from the GeoDirectory were linked back to the place of work, school or college Electoral District (ED) and Town and Small Area by superimposing digital boundaries.

In 2016, places of work, school or college with an address in Northern Ireland were coded in the same way using the Pointer database. Where the person indicated a work, school or college address abroad these records were coded to a specific code to indicate that the person was working abroad i.e. outside Ireland or Northern Ireland.

Anonymisation and recoding

The coded records relating to persons within households were anonymised by stripping off all identifiable information such as household number, person number within the household and by re-coding variables where the number of categories could lead to the identification of an individual when combined with other information on the record.

POWSCAR Structure and Content

Table 1 gives details of the variables in the microdata file and how they are classified.
The Place of Work, School or College Census data file IE_COP_Place_Of_Work_School_2016.txt is a TAB delimited text file in the format outlined in Table 1. Note that the first record of this file contains the variable names as indicated.
POWSCAR_2016_Codes.xlsx contains a worksheet for each variable which links the variable values and their associated labels.
For persons who were usually resident in Ireland on Census Night but were enumerated away from their home, it is not possible to produce household or family characteristics. In this case, the variable will be populated with a “U” for unknown.

Data minimisation

A new European regulation on data protection, the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council), comes into force in Ireland in May 2018. This regulation puts stringent requirements on data processing organisations such as the CSO to protect the personal data of individuals and undertakings. One of the principles of the GDPR is data minimisation which specifies that personal data should be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed.

Table 1 - Variables in the Anonymised Place of Work, School or College microdata file and the classifications used
VariableLabel/NotesValues1Variable populated for students (Persons aged 5-14 or Q27=4)Variable populated for workers (Q27=1)
WSI_IND At work, school or college indicator. S=Attending school or college (i.e. students)
W=At work (i.e. workers)
YES YES
POWSC_Location

Place of work, school or college location

IE=POWSC in Republic of Ireland
NI=POWSC in Northern Ireland
98=POWSC Overseas
H=Home School
M=Mobile worker(Q34)
W=Works mainly at or from home(Q34)
B=Place of work, school or college address blank or uncodeable
YES YES
Residence_NUTS3 Regional Authority of usual residence See “POWSCAR_2016_Codes.xls” YES YES
POWSC_NUTS3 Regional Authority of location of place of work, school or college  See “POWSCAR_2016_Codes.xls” YES YES
Residence_County Administrative County of usual residence See “POWSCAR_2016_Codes.xls”. YES YES
POWSC_County Administrative County of place of work or college  See “POWSCAR_2016_Codes.xls”. YES YES
Residence_CSOED Electoral Division of usual residence CSO code See “POWSCAR_2016_Codes.xls”. This has details of the ED codes and names.  YES YES
POWSC_CSOED Electoral Division CSO code of place of work, school or college - Ward Code in Northern Ireland See “POWSCAR_2016_Codes.xls”.
B=Place of work, school or college blank or uncodeable
M=No fixed place of work(Q34)
W=Works mainly at or from home(Q34)
H=Home schooling
YES YES
Residence_Area_Type Area type indicator for rural or population of town of residence. Area type indicating the total population of the town of residence based on the 2016 census. See “POWSCAR_2016_Codes.xls”. YES YES
POWSC_Area_type Area type indicator for rural or population of town of residence. Area type indicating the total population of the town of place of work, school or college based on the 2016 census. See “POWSCAR_2016_Codes.xls”. YES YES
Residence_Town Town of usual residence See “POWSCAR_2016_Codes.xls”. 

Town code (at least 50+ inhabited dwellings)

This code will be NN000 (where NN is the County Code) if the person is resident in the rural area of the county.  In the case of legal towns the town includes the environs of the legal town.

YES YES
POWSC_Town

CSO town code of place of work, school or college.

In the case of Northern Ireland town are those defined in the 2001 population.

See “POWSCAR_2016_Codes.xls”.

7 Digit Numeric=Town code of address of place of work, school or college

B=Place of work /school/college address blank or uncodeable

M=No fixed place of work(Q34)

W=Works mainly at or from home(Q34)

H =Home schooling
YES YES
Residence_Small_Area Small area of usual residence

Small areas are the lowest level of geography for the compilation of statistics and typically contain between 50 and 200 dwellings.

See Small Area boundary in the boundary files folder.

YES YES
POWSC_Small_Area

Small area of place of work, school or college location. 

If the place of work, school or college is in Northern Ireland this field contains the NI 2001 Census Output Area.

Small areas are the lowest level of geography for the compilation of statistics and typically contain between 50 and 200 dwellings.

Boundaries are available in shape file format for use in the remote access system

B=Place of work, school or college address blank or uncodeable
M=No fixed place of work(Q34)
W=Works mainly at or from home(Q34)
H=Home schooling

YES YES
Fuzz_East_250 250M Grid Square Easting – Irish National Grid

The position of place of work, school or college location coded has been rounded to the centre of the 250M X 250M grid square in which the place of work, school or college is located.

Irish National Grid Easting of centroid of place of work, school or college location grid square.
YES YES
Fuzz_North_250 250M Grid Square Northing – Irish National Grid

The position of place of work, school or college, location coded has been rounded to the centre of the 250M X 250M grid square in which the place of work, school or college is located.

Irish National Grid Northing of centroid of place of work, school or college location grid square.
YES YES
Resident_Persons Number of usual residents in the household Where there are 5 or more usual residents in the households=5+. YES YES
Resident_Students Number of usually resident students in the household This is a count of the number of usually resident students in the household (i.e. persons falling within the scope of this file) where the person resides. Where there are 3 or more usually resident students in the household=3+ YES YES
Resident_Workers Number of usually resident workers in the household This is a count of the number of usually resident workers in the household (i.e. persons falling within the scope of this file) where the person resides. Where there are 3 or more usually resident workers in the household=3+ YES YES
Nature_of_Occupancy
Nature of occupancy of household accommodation
Purchaser/Owner Occupied combines the following categories:
1-Owner occupied with mortgage or loan
2-Owner outright

Rented incl. free rent combines the following categories:
3-Rent
4-Live here rent free

This indicates the nature of occupancy of the households accommodation in which the person resides.
1=Purchaser/Owner occupied
2=Rented incl. free rent
*=Not stated
C=Communal Establishment
U=Unknown
YES YES

Cars_or_vans

Number of cars or vans available for use in the household.

1=One
2=Two
3=Three
4=Four or more
5=None
*=Not stated
C=Communal Establishment
U=Unknown

YES

YES

Household_Composition

Household composition.

1=Single person
2=Lone parent with at least one resident child aged 19 or under
3=Lone parent with resident children but none aged 19 or under
4=Couple with at least one resident child aged 19 or under
5=Couple with resident children but none aged 19 or under
6=Couple with no resident children
7=Other households
U=Unknown

YES

YES
Sex Sex 1=Males
2=Females
YES YES

Five_Year_Age_Group

Age group

05-09=05-09
10-14=10-14
15-19=15-19
20-24=20-24
25-29=25-29
30-34=30-34
35-39=35-39
40-44=40-44
45-49=45-49
50-54=50-54
55-59=55-59
60-64=60-64
65-69=65-69
70-74=70-74
75+=75+

NO

YES

School_Level

This is a school level based on age to coincide with the three levels of education Primary (5-12), Secondary (13-18), Third Level (19+).
1=Primary
2=Secondary
3=Third Level

YES

NO
Usual_Residence_One_Year_Ago Flag indicating where the person usually resided one year ago. 0=Different address
1=Same address
*=Not stated
YES YES

Highest_Level_of_Education

Highest level of education completed to date

Completed secondary or lower combines categories:

1-No formal education

2-Primary education

3-Lower secondary

4-Upper secondary

5-Technical or vocational
qualification

6-Advanced Certificate/
Completed Apprenticeship

Completed third level or higher combines categories Third level:

7-Higher Certificate

8-Ordinary Bachelor Degree or National Diploma

9-Honours Bachelor/
Professional qualification or both

10-Postgraduate Diploma or Degree

11-Doctorate (Ph.D) or higher

1= Completed secondary or lower (NFQ 1-6)
2= Completed third level or higher (NFQ 7-10)
*=Not stated

NO

YES

SEG

Socio-economic group
The socio-economic group of persons aged 15 years or over who are at work is determined by their occupation and employment status.

The SEG of students is determined by their parents or of sibling where no parent is working. 
A=Employers and managers
B=Higher professionals
C=Lower professionals
D=Non-manual
E=Manual skilled
F=Semi-skilled
G=Unskilled
H=Own account workers
I=Farmers
J=Agricultural workers
Z=All others gainfully occupied and unknown

YES

YES

Industrial_Group
Industrial group
Industry is coded to over 200 detailed industry codes (using NACE Rev.2) on the basis of the name and address of the business/employer and/or the free text description of the nature of business carried on.
The detailed industry codes have been grouped into eight broad groups for the purposes of this sample.
1=Agriculture, forestry and fishing
2=Manufacturing, mining and quarrying, Electricity, Gas, Water Supply and Waste Management
3=Construction
4=Wholesale, Retail Trade, Transportation and Storage, Accommodation and Food Service Activities
5=Information and Communication, Financial, Real Estate, Professional, Administration and Support Service Activities
6=Public Administration and Defence, Compulsory Social Security
7=Education, Human Health and Social Work Activities
8=Other Service Activities
*=Not stated
NO YES

Means_of_Travel

Means of travel to work, school or  college.
01=Not at work, school or college
02=On foot
03=Bicycle
04=Bus, minibus or coach
05=Train, DART or LUAS
06=Motor cycle or scooter
07=Driving a car
08=Passenger in a car
09=Van
10=Other, including lorry
11=Work mainly at or from home
*=Not stated

YES

YES

Time_of_Departure

Time leaves home for work, school or college
1=Not at work, school or college
2=Before 06:30
3=06:31-07:00
4=07:01-07:30
5=07:31-08:00
6=08:01-08:30
7=08:31-09:00
8=09:01-09:30
9=After 09:30
*=Not stated

YES

YES
Journey_Minutes
Journey to work – minutes

Numeric value=actual minutes

*=Not stated


YES

YES
Residence_CSOED_GUID Identifier for merging Electoral Division(3409) data to boundaries   YES YES
Residence_Small_Area_GUID Identifier for merging Census 2016 Small Area data to boundaries   YES  YES 
Residence_Town_GUID Identifier for merging Census 2016 Town data to boundaries   YES YES
Residence_Workplace_Zone Census 2016 Workplace Zones code   YES YES
Residence_Workplace_Zone_GUID Identifier for merging Workplace Zone data to boundaries   YES YES
POWSC_CSOED_GUID Identifier for merging Electoral Division(3409) data to boundaries   YES YES
POWSC_Small_Area_GUID Identifier for merging Census 2016 Small Area data to boundaries   YES YES
POWSC_Town_GUID Identifier for merging Census 2016 Town data to boundaries   YES YES
POWSC_WORKPLACE_ZONE Census 2016 Workplace Zones code   YES YES
POWSC_WORKPLACE_ZONE_GUID Identifier for merging Workplace Zone data to boundaries   YES YES

1 Missing numeric values are represented with a “-“ in the file. Character values not applicable are represented with a “-“ in the file.