Have you ever looked at facts or figures in the media and wondered whether you could trust the information? Or how these statistics were produced? Whether they are accurate, or representative of all parts of the country and age groups?
The CSO is the National Statistics Institute (NSI) of Ireland and is tasked with producing official statistics about our society, economy, and environment. The single point of difference between the CSO and other data providers is that the statistics we publish are independently compiled and verified.
Our statistics must not only meet legislative requirements, they must also meet the highest international standards. They are subject to rigorous checks and verification by international bodies such as Eurostat and the European Central Bank.
All of this means you can trust the data we publish.
The CSO is Ireland’s National Statistics Institute (NSI), which means we are legally mandated to produce official statistics on Irish society, economy, and environment. As Ireland’s NSI, we are uniquely placed from a legislative perspective to gather data together from multiple sources and link data where appropriate to produce insights for all.
Firstly, is it important to remember that our work is governed by both Irish and European laws and regulations, most notably the Statistics Act, 1993, and European Union Regulation 223/2009. The CSO also adheres to both the European Statistics Code of Practice (ES CoP) and the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics (FPOS) which commit us to produce statistics in accordance with internationally agreed methods, standards, and ethics. Adhering to these frameworks helps build trust and credibility around the production of official statistics. The CSO’s statistical processes are also independently verified and checked by international experts such as Eurostat and the European Central Bank.
All European NSIs are regulated by the principles in the European Statistics Code of Practice (ES CoP), which ensures the quality and credibility of the data and official statistics.
ES CoP defines 16 key principles for the institutional environment, statistical processes, and statistical outputs under which the EU and the NSIs operate. It also includes a further set of 84 sub indicators which outline the best practices and standards to fulfil each of the 16 principles.
The principles of the ES CoP refer, among other things, to:
Adhering to the ES CoP is the cornerstone of producing high quality data and sets the standards for developing, producing, and disseminating European statistics.
The CSO is fully committed to the ES CoP.
Thirty years ago, the most senior statisticians in countries across Europe, Central Asia, and North America created a set of 10 principles governing the production of official statistics. They recognised the need to provide a framework to ensure that the statistics published by member countries are reliable and trustworthy.
The FPOS were adopted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in 1992 and have since been recognised as a global standard around the world.
The CSO is committed to meeting these Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics (FPOS). This means that we, along with other member countries, produce statistics in accordance with internationally agreed methods, standards, and professional ethics.
This framework helps build trust and credibility around the production of official statistics. The CSO adheres to these principles and associated behaviours, and we believe producing statistics using these standards is fundamental for a democratic society.
The official statistics compiled by the CSO must meet quality and timeliness standards which are enshrined in Irish and European law. Our statistics are also independently regulated and verified.
We produce statistics not just using the FPOS and ES CoP as a framework, but in line with standards set in EU legislation by the European Commission (Eurostat) and the European Central Bank (ECB). This means it is a legal obligation for the CSO to compile its statistics in line with the specified standards and required quality and timeliness criteria. Relevant statistics compiled by the CSO are independently verified and checked by either Eurostat or the ECB, depending on the topic.
For example, our National Accounts and Government Finance Statistics are subject to stringent and legislative oversight as they are relied upon to verify Ireland’s contributions to the EU budget and compliance with European financial regulations.
The CSO undergoes regular Peer Reviews, where a team of international experts assess our compliance with the 16 principles (and 84 sub-indicators) of the ES CoP and ensure we are meeting these agreed standards. The results of the Peer Review are published on our website in line with our commitment to transparency. The most recent Peer Review of the CSO took place in February 2022.
Quality is the trademark of European statistics and by ensuring that every CSO publication meets agreed standards, this means the public and decision-makers can trust the independence and quality of our data.
The core aim of these codes of practice is to provide a framework to ensure that statistics published by member countries are reliable and trustworthy as they have been produced in accordance with internationally agreed methods, standards, and ethics.
Knowing that the CSO adheres to these frameworks and principles helps to build trust and credibility around our statistics, and official statistics in general.
Adhering to these frameworks, principles, and behaviours supports statistical agencies in compiling official statistics in accordance with strict professional considerations, including scientific principles and professional ethics.
This also supports policy makers as official statistics are an indispensable element in the information system of a democratic society, as they provide valuable and independently produced data and insights which support evidence-informed decision making.
Our support for the national data ecosystem across the civil and public service