CSO Surveys collect vital information about different aspects of life in Ireland. Your information is important and your voice matters.
If you are asked, please take part in a CSO household survey and help to plan for everyone's future in Ireland.
On this page you will find answers to common questions on the following themes:
The CSO is the national statistical institute of Ireland which means we are trusted to gather, analyse, and publish statistics about Irish society and economy. We have a proven track record in treating data with respect and confidentiality and are accountable by law to protect your data.
Thousands of households and business take part in our surveys which take place throughout the year on topics such as health, employment, well-being, and household finances, so we can all live in an informed society.
Your information is important and your voice matters. We want to publish quality data about life in Ireland and that’s why it’s important that you take part so the statistical reports we publish are accurate and reflect the lived reality of people living in Ireland.
Each survey collects different information about aspects of Irish life and there may be many types of surveys taking place at any one time.
Providing accurate and verifiable statistics that are freely available to everyone on our website is an important part of living in an informed society. The facts we publish can hold decision-makers to account.
Your voice matters and it is really important that you take part in the survey you have been invited to complete so we can accurately publish statistics about life in Ireland.
As the person or household who has been selected at random, you are representing others that have not been chosen.
People are selected at random to take part in a CSO survey to ensure the survey results are nationally representative and reflect the lives we live. This means that we need a certain number of men and women to take part, people of different ages, and those living in rural and urban areas, amongst others.
Make your voice heard. By completing our survey your story becomes part of Ireland’s story.
The CSO was established to provide independent, accurate, and verifiable facts about our society and economy. We are independent which means we can publish statistical analysis regardless of what the data says, and this is protected by law, as is your data confidentiality.
The data we need to produce statistical reports about our country is never about you as an individual, but about us as a society. This means no individual, household, or business can be identified from the data we publish. For more on why you can trust the CSO, see our new Trust and Transparency section.
Your name was selected at random to take part in our survey.
We can’t interview everyone, so we select random samples of people from different age groups, by location with a mix of people from rural and urban locations, and a split in terms of men and women to make sure we have good representative spread of people from around the country.
We use a statistical process to select individuals or households at random and this helps ensure the surveys we conduct are nationally representative.
People can be invited to take part by letter or through one of our interview team. This means someone might call to your house to ask you to take part.
We use various data sources to randomly select people or households to ask them to take part in our surveys. This includes data collected by Government agencies or departments, which is known as administrative data. Administrative data sources include:
People are selected at random to take part in CSO surveys to ensure the survey results are nationally representative and reflect our changing social and economic life.
Under the Statistics Act, 1993 the CSO can legally use this information to contact citizens.
You can be assured that:
The CSO can access names or addresses from administrative data sources, which is data collected by Government departments or agencies. The CSO has a legal right to access administrative data sources as outlined in Section 24 of the Statistics Act, 1993.
We use these details to invite you to take part in a survey. Individuals and households are selected at random to take part in a CSO survey to ensure the survey results are nationally representative and reflect the lives we live. This means that we need a certain number of men and women to take part, people of different ages, and those living in rural and urban areas.
Eircodes are often included in administrative data sources, which is data collected by Government departments or agencies that we can legally access.
Your name or household was chosen at random from an administrative data source using a statistical computer programme. Some administrative data records, such as property ownership records, also include Eircodes.
Our invitation for you to take part in the survey was issued under Section 24 of the Statistics Act, 1993.
Sometimes, if an Eircode is not included with the address, we may add an Eircode from publicly available tools so our interview team can find your house more easily in order to interview you, or to possibly count the number of houses in the state.
Yes. Protecting data confidentiality is at the heart of everything we do. This is what you need to know about data confidentially:
The CSO takes data confidentiality seriously. We have been trusted for more than 75 years to gather, analyse, and publish statistical reports on life in Ireland. This trust is based on the assurance that we will protect the data we gather. We adhere to the strictest rules and regulations when it comes to gathering and protecting your data. These safeguards around protecting your confidentiality are enshrined in both Irish (the Statistics Act, 1993) and European Union (EU Regulation 223/2009) law.
It is never about you as an individual, but about us as a society. Your experiences tell us about the big picture of life in Ireland and wider society, and we only ever publish the big picture.
What this means is that:
Yes. We are legally obliged under both Irish and European law to protect all the data provided to us. This is what you need to know about data protection:
All data obtained by the CSO is treated as strictly confidential and protected by law. There are a number of ways we protect your data such as:
No. This is not a data breach.
By law, the CSO is entrusted to gather, analyse, and publish statistics and reports about Ireland’s society and economy. This falls under Section 24 the Statistics Act, 1993.
Individuals and households are selected at random to complete a survey.
It is worth noting that the CSO is subject to, and complies with, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Data protection law places an emphasis on lawful processing and appropriate security, which are cornerstones of the CSO’s work.
Yes. The CSO complies with the GDPR.
GDPR requires that where data is collected and processed for statistical purposes, necessary safeguards to protect the individual must be put in place. The CSO complies with this obligation.
Each survey collects different information about different aspects of Irish life and so the length of each survey is different.
We work hard to make sure the surveys are as easy to fill out as possible, however, some take longer to complete than others.
While participation is voluntary, we would urge anyone selected to take part in our surveys to complete it, as your voice and experience matters if we are to accurately reflect the lives we lead in Ireland.
Make your voice heard. By completing our survey your story becomes part of Ireland’s story.
We count on you to complete our surveys, and you count on us to provide accurate statistics that reflect Irish society.
We send out letters to people or households to let them know they have been randomly selected to take part in our surveys. Interviewers will call to your home to complete the interview with you at a time that suits if it needs to be a face-to-face interview. Face-to-face surveys include our Labour Force Survey, Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) and Household Budget Survey(HBS).
Thousands of households and businesses take part in our surveys throughout the year on topics such as health, employment, well-being, and household finances, so we can all live in an informed society.
Everyone selected to take part in a CSO survey is chosen at random. People can be invited to take part by letter or through one of our interview team. This means someone might call to your house to ask you to take part. Participation is voluntary but we urge anyone who is randomly selected to take part as your voice matters.
We provide details on our letters of how you can contact us if you have questions. We will ring you back if we are unable to answer the call outside of office hours if you leave a voicemail.
Your name/household was chosen at random from administrative data using a statistical process.
Unfortunately, given the time it takes to process data, this information may not always be up to date. This is why the CSO sent the letter of invitation to the wrong address. We apologise for this error.
We are unable to correct this information because while we can legally access data collected by Government departments or agencies, we cannot share information or data with them.
The address was chosen at random from administrative data using a statistical process.
Unfortunately, this data may not always be up to date. This is why the CSO sent the letter of invitation to the wrong address. We apologise for this error.
Unfortunately, you can’t, because the named person was chosen at random to be statistically representative of a wider population group. If a different person completes the survey, it could distort the results of the survey, which is called creating a bias.
CSO: Count on us. We count on you.
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.