HFCS is the Household Finance and Consumption Survey. This survey is designed to find out more about household finance and consumption in Ireland.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is conducting the HFCS in Ireland on behalf of the Central Bank of Ireland.
The purpose of HFCS is to gather micro-level structural information on Euro area households’ assets and liabilities. The survey also collects additional information in order to help policy makers at EU level to examine the economic situation.
HFCS data collection will commence in Ireland in March 2013.
Since interviewing every household in Ireland would be very expensive and difficult, we use scientific statistical methods to randomly select households. While participation in our study is voluntary, it is important that selected adults take part so all households throughout the country will be represented.
If you are to be included in the survey, a HFCS interviewer will call to your door. All our interviewers carry CSO photo identification so please ask to see this. Additionally, all HFCS interviewers will use a laptop computer for the interview.
If you are in any doubt as to whether or not they represent the CSO, you can contact us at 1890 252 293 (LoCall) to verify his\her identification.
The questionnaire is tailored to ask questions depending on individual circumstances. Responses will dictate subsequent question routing, thereby varying the length of the survey. Appointments can be made with the interviewer.
The HFCS questionnaire consists of two main parts:
All individual information obtained by the CSO is treated as strictly confidential. The information is used solely for statistical purposes. Results are published in aggregate form and great care is taken to ensure that details relating to an identifiable person or undertaking are not inadvertently divulged. This confidentiality is guaranteed by law (Part V, Statistics Act, 1993).