Thousands of homes will not receive forms ahead of Census night

Thousands of homes will not receive their Census forms in time to fill them out this weekend, partly due to Covid-19 effects on staff, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has said.

As of Friday, about 5 per cent of households have yet to receive the paperwork, which is supposed to be completed on Sunday night. Those who do not get the forms are being told they will receive them next week and can complete them retrospectively.

The delivery of Census forms commenced in early March and is being conducted by a team of more than 5,000 enumerators. So far, 1.8 million have been delivered with “significant” further progress expected over the next three days.

In a statement, the CSO said that, as with previous Censuses, certain areas have proved challenging for deliveries, particularly Dublin and Limerick city centres as well as parts of Donegal and Waterford.

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“Areas with a high density of apartment buildings, which can present access challenges, have particularly been impacted. Covid-19 has also led to localised disruption where some enumerators have been required to isolate,” it said.

No cause for concern

Eileen Murphy, head of Census administration, reassured those who have not yet received a form that there is no cause for concern.

“In recent days, a number of enumerators have been reallocated to areas where further deliveries are still required. Enumerators will now also post forms into homes where they have been unable to make personal contact,” she said.

Deliveries will continue beyond the weekend and forms can be completed retrospectively, although based on the situation in the home on Census night.

"The people of Ireland have always been extremely supportive of Census and we thank them for their overwhelming support of Census 2022," she said. "If, however you have not yet received a census form we do urge you to contact us to ensure you're fulfilling your legal obligations to be included on a census form."

Households that have not yet received one, or who have not been contacted by an enumerator, are urged to contact the CSO by visiting census.ie or calling 0818 2022 04 to request a form. The helpdesk will operate between 11am and 6pm this Saturday and Sunday.