Major ‘first-time' change coming for Census 2027 as 5m Irish citizens hit with new update
The
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The 2027 census will be available digitally
Credit: Getty
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Hildegarde Naughton announced the change
Credit: PA
In two year's time, people will be able to fill out the box-tick form online.
It's the first time ever that the Irish census will be available digitally.
In every other year, a paper form has been the only option.
A paper option will still be available in 2027 for those who want to fill it out that way.
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It will be held in April and May of 2027, although no exact date has yet been confirmed.
The news was announced by
She explained: "On 1 March 2022, the Government formally decided to conduct a Census of Population in 2027 to be carried out by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
"The exact census date has not yet been decided. It is however expected that census data collection will run in April and May 2027.
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DATA HELP
"Census 2027 will be a major undertaking for the CSO as, for the first time in Irish history, the public will have the option to complete their census form online.
"While the majority of the public are likely to avail of the new online option, it is expected that several hundred thousand households will opt to handwrite their census responses onto a paper form.
"Both online and paper census forms will be available in Irish and English.
"This is a complex digital transformation programme, which involves a fundamental redesign of how the census is conducted."
PILOT SCHEME
He added: "The census is critical for planning on the effective use of state resources.
'The option will still be there for the paper forms.
'Politically the next census will also be important as it will be used to revise the local, European and Dáil constituencies in advance of the 2029 elections.
'Given population growth, we will need to look at limiting the Dáil size but also to increase the number of local councillors that we have.'
A Census Pilot survey took place last year to prepare for the 2027 event.
The CSO selected 20,000 households across 44 locations in Ireland.
Households in
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The census happens every five years
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