What the CSO does

The CSO is an independent office constituted under the Statistics Act, 1993. We provide free independent statistical information to support understanding, effective debate and decision making across government, business and society. Our outputs are a public good and are an essential part of creating an informed society for the people of Ireland. 

We publish more than 450 statistical releases and reports every year. All the information we publish is available on our website (www.cso.ie). The CSO is also responsible for coordinating the official statistics of other public authorities.

Main Responsibilities

The functions, authority and responsibilities of the CSO are set out in the Statistics Act, 1993. The Office is mandated to:

• Collect, compile, extract and disseminate statistical information relating to the economic, social and general activities of the State.
• Decide independently on statistical methodology and standards, and on the content, timing and methods of disseminating statistics.
• Protect the confidentiality of the information collected and ensure that it is used only for statistical purposes.
• Maintain close and regular contact with the principal users and suppliers of statistics.
• Co-ordinate the statistics compiled by other public authorities to ensure adherence to statistical standards and classifications.
• Realise the statistical potential of the records maintained by public authorities.

In addition to our statutory mandate, we also have an ethical statistical mandate which embraces impartiality, integrity, and the requirement to apply the best statistical standards and methodology. In this regard we fully subscribe to the U.N. Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics and to the European Statistics Code of Practice adopted by the EU in 2005 and updated in 2017. Links to both documents are available on our website. 

We serve the needs of Government and the wider community for impartial and relevant statistics on social and economic conditions. There are many and varied uses for our statistics. The community of users includes all sectors of society - Government Departments and other Public Bodies, universities and research institutes, the media, businesses, trade unions, other sectoral groups, and the general public. There is also an important international dimension to our work, providing statistics which are internationally comparable, particularly at EU level. Our statistics are used by Eurostat, other EU Commission Departments, the European Central Bank, the UN and other international organisations, and by other national statistical offices.