Latest news with #1926Census
The Journal
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Digitalisation of 1926 Census one step closer as Cabinet to hear next steps
MINISTER FOR ARTS and Culture Patrick O'Donovan will bring a memo to Cabinet today outlining the next steps in the digitalisation of the 1926 Census. The Government intends for the 1926 Census website – the first Census in the Irish Free State – to go live on 18 April 2026. It will enable people to search and view the individual returns of the 1926 Census free of charge, making available for the first time the personal information related to the almost 3m people living in Ireland on the night of 18 April 1926. Personal information entered on individual census forms can be published 100 years after a census is taken. Today's Cabinet update comes two and a half years after €5m in funding for the project was announced by then Arts and Culture Minister Catherine Martin. At the time the project was announced, the 1926 Census was stored in 1,344 boxes, containing over 700,000 return sheets, each measuring approximately 630mm x 290mm (A3 is 297x430mm). Advertisement The digitalisation work is being undertaken by the National Archives of Ireland in close cooperation with the Central Statistics Office (CSO). On that night The 1926 census collected 21 data sets such as name, age, sex, marital status, religion, housing conditions and ability to speak Irish. On the night of 18 April 1926, the population of Ireland was 2,971,992 with 49% female and 51% male. At the previous census in 1911, the population was 3,139,688, demonstrating a reduction of 5.3% in the population in 15 years to 1926. Dublin was the only county to record an increase in population of almost 6% in the intercensal period, while all other counties recorded a loss. In 1926, a total of 92.6% of the population was Catholic and 18.3% could speak Irish. Of those employed, 51% were in agricultural occupations, 4% were fisherman, 14% were in manufacturing and 7% were domestic servants. Details are published on the CSO website . Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
19-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
1926 census to be available online after digitisation
The first census carried out by the State will be available online next year, the Minister for Arts, Culture and Communications Patrick O'Donovan is expected to tell the Cabinet. The 1926 Census website will go live on 18 April 2026, making available information on almost three million people living in Ireland on that night 100 years ago. The 1926 Census was the first census of the Irish Free State, also known in Irish as Saorstát Éireann, and marks a significant moment in the development of modern Ireland. Census 1926 consists of 2,496 bound volumes containing 700,000 household returns and about 70,000 enumerators' sheets giving details of houses and buildings in each townland. More than €5 million has been made available by the Government to enable release of the 1926 Census next year. This census captured details on employers and provides an insight into the nature of work in Ireland in 1926 from a social and cultural perspective. Minister O'Donovan will also update the Government on work to bring RTÉ under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General. 'DEIS Plus Scheme' Education Minister Helen McEntee will outline plans to address educational disadvantage, including the publishing of a new DEIS Plan, and work on a 'DEIS Plus Scheme'. Minister McEntee will publish a new DEIS Plan this year to address educational disadvantage across all schools. The new DEIS Plan will focus on improving the opportunities for children at risk of educational disadvantage in all schools. The plan will address retention to Leaving Certificate and improving progression rates into further and higher education and employment. It will place a major focus on school attendance and tackling the rate of absenteeism in both DEIS and non-DEIS schools. Minister for Education Helen McEntee will also update Cabinet on her work to establish a new 'DEIS Plus' scheme which will support schools with the highest level of educational disadvantage, helping them to improve educational outcomes, particularly regarding literacy and numeracy. Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke will bring a memo to Cabinet on his department's new small business unit. The purpose of the unit is to ensure that the needs and issues of small businesses have a dedicated focus and are acknowledged across Government. While Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary will provide an update on the procurement of investment management providers for the automatic enrolment retirement savings system . The successful bidders will informed later today. The new system, which will automatically include employees in a pension savings scheme for at least six months, is set be launched at the beginning of next year.
