This year the CSO marks 75 years of being trusted to gather, analyse, and publish statistics and insights about Ireland’s society, economy, and environment.
Our methods might have changed over the years, but our commitment to confidentiality, accuracy, quality, transparency, and independence remains the same.
In a crowded data world, the main differences between the CSO and other data providers are our legal standing, our high standards, and stringent regulation. The statistics we publish are also independently compiled and verified and we publish our methodology and sources. Our independence to publish statistical analysis is protected by Irish and European law, as is your data confidentiality.
The statistics we produce are called official statistics and they are independently checked and verified by international bodies and experts. They are the counterbalance to misinformation and hold decision-makers to account. Providing accurate and verifiable facts that are freely available to everyone is a cornerstone of living in an informed society.
You have counted on us for 75 years and we have counted on you. We are proud to have reached this significant milestone and to be the trusted source for economic and social facts about Ireland.
We continue to work hard to maintain and build on the trust that has been placed in us so we can provide valuable and independently produced data and insights which support evidence-informed decision making for all.
CSO: Count on us. We count on you.
01 June 1949: The Central Statistics Office (CSO) was set up in Dublin Castle on a non-statutory basis.
1951: Publication of “The Official Cost of Living Index Number and its Critics” by Director Roy Geary. This 30-page document was written as a response to a great public outcry against this index which was considered “a great fake”. The paper was written to show how the index was constructed, what it meant, and why it could be trusted. It was his view that the independence of the Office and the free publication of its data was “one of the greatest privileges and safeguards of a free democracy”.
1951: The 1951 Census of Population marked the start of taking the Census of Population in Ireland at five-year intervals. It was produced more regularly than other countries due to the scale of migration and social change.
1951-1952: First Household Budget Inquiry carried out. The results provided the raw material for compiling the Cost-of-Living Index number.
1955: First National Farm Survey conducted.
January 1961: Monthly Index of Retail Sales established.
1964: First Sample Survey of Road Freight Transport.
1973: Ireland joins the EEC which would later become the European Union. Almost all of the CSO’s statistical activities are now mandatory under EU statistical requirements.
1982: CSO staff numbered about 500 people.
1980s: CSO releases and publications could be bought from the Government Publications Sales Office and book shops such as Eason stocked the Statistical Abstract of Ireland, which would later become the Statistical Yearbook of Ireland.
1984: The Government established a Statistical Council under the chairmanship of Professor Denis Conniffe, to review and report on the state of Irish official statistics. He set out what was required of the CSO to improve Irish official statistics. He argued that the CSO:
The Statistical Council report was published in 1985 and its analysis fed into the Government White Paper (A New Institutional Structure for the CSO) published in October 1985.
1986: The National Statistics Board was set up.
1993: The Statistics Act, 1993, replaced earlier Acts in full. It included the mandate for data collection as well as access to administrative data, the definition of an Officer of Statistics, and of statistical confidentiality.
11 February 1994: The CSO decentralised to Cork and closed its office in St. Stephen’s Green House, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2.
September 1997: Creation of the first CSO logo.
2000: The CSO’s Swords Office opened.
2018: New CSO logo launched.
2018: New Statement of Strategy called for more use of inline tables, commentary, visualisation tools, and dashboards to turn data and statistics into information and knowledge for all.
2018: The Data Protection Act outlined the requirements for data controllers and data processors to comply with their legal obligations, both under the GDPR and as set out in applicable national legislation.
March 2020: The majority of CSO staff move from office-based work to working from home for the first time due to COVID-19 restrictions.
2020-2022: COVID-19 highlighted the need for more timely information on how the pandemic was affecting our economy, society, and well-being. The CSO responded with a series of new releases and publications, some under the banner of our Frontier Series. We also created Hubs, which provided a one-stop-shop for information on key topics.
May 2022: New Format for releases/publications rolled out with Key Findings and Statistician’s Comment now included with all releases.
June 2024: Launch of the CSO's new Trust and Transparency section on our website.
Recent gathering of former CSO Director Generals with current Director General Jennifer Banim. (L-to-R) Donal Murphy, Donal Garvey, Pádraig Dalton, Jennifer Banim, and Gerry O'Hanlon.
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Explore the popularity of baby names over time in our interactive visualisation, and discover the wide range of popular names for babies in Ireland since 1964
Learn about how and why we gather data, our legal remit, the legal guarantees around data protection and confidentiality, and the high standards we hold ourselves to
