Press Statement

Preasráiteas

13 April 2021

After more than 12 months of working from home, Central Statistics Office (CSO) interviewers are calling to selected households to collect survey information.

The CSO conducts household surveys all year round on topics such as health, travel, crime and well-being. These also include the Labour Force Survey, a measure of Ireland's employment and unemployment rate, and the Survey on Income and Living Conditions, which is the official source of data on household and individual income and also provides a number of key national poverty indicators.

The CSO has 100 interviewers collecting data from householders for these surveys. For more than a year, our interviewers have been working from home and sending letters of invitation to selected households inviting them to complete the survey via the telephone. This has resulted in lower response rates. CSO interviewers, who are essential workers, are back reengaging with selected households to improve the number of survey returns.

To also improve survey collection, the CSO, which has traditionally selected households randomly, has created an email address to allow people to register their interest in taking part in our future surveys, CSOTakePart@CSO.ie

To prepare for a return to the field, the CSO carried out a risk assessment on the interaction between the interviewer and the householder and has now modified its processes to minimise risk. All interaction with a household and an interviewer is in line with current Government and Public Health Guidelines.

Richard McMahon, Assistant Director General, said the CSO has taken every precaution to ensure the safety of staff and the householder, such as the interviewer remaining outside the person’s home and maintaining physical distance, not engaging with the householder for more than 15 minutes and using appropriate personal protective equipment such as masks and hand sanitiser.

“To ensure the householder feels safe, the CSO will also send a letter to the household in advance letting them know they have been chosen to take part in a survey. If they would prefer the interviewer doesn't call to their door they can ring to arrange the interview over the phone at a time that suits them."

The CSO conducted a pilot survey to test these procedures. Cork interviewer, Susan Scanlon, took part in the pilot and was happy with the reaction on the doorstep. “My interaction with the public during the pilot was very positive. Householders were happy to engage with me and I felt safe working within the new guidelines.”

Mr McMahon also stressed the importance of householders taking part in these surveys.

“The CSO would like to thank everyone who has completed our surveys, particularly over the last 12 months, which have been challenging for everyone. We are again appealing to people to complete our Household and Business surveys if they are selected to do so. The knowledge that behind every statistic is a real person or a business is at the heart of all that the CSO does and the information we collect brings clarity, insight and transparency around what is happening in our economy and society which helps organisations, businesses and Government plan for our future.

“It is really important for people to take part, to have their say and to make their story part of the story - the story of Ireland. In order to ensure that everyone who wants to take part in our surveys can do so, people can now for the first time email the CSO to register their interest in survey participation.”

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