Would you like a Time Capsule in the next Census?

The Census Pilot Survey is asking people in Offaly if they would like a Time Capsule in the 2021 Census form.

Would you use a Time Capsule if it is in the 2021 census form? This is a question on the Census Pilot Survey which is currently underway in Offaly. By a Time Capsule, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) means a space to write a message that would be seen in 100 years by future generations.

The Census Pilot Survey is currently almost at the end of the field campaign phase in Offaly, forms will be collected until October 23rd.

Enumerators have visited over 1,700 homes across the county in the last few weeks. If they called and missed or were unable to reach householders it is not too late to fill out and return the Census Pilot Survey form to the enumerator or send it by freepost to Central Statistics Office, PO Box 2016, Freepost 4726, Swords, Co Dublin. The CSO is very grateful to the people who have already returned their forms.

You might think that it is only one form, it won’t be missed. That is not the case. It is the single action of each of the householders taking part, by filling out and returning the form, that makes up the volume of forms needed to make the Pilot Survey work well. For the CSO, the data that is provided on the form is vital to help analyse the results of the new and

updated questions. The more forms received, the more data to base decisions on and therefore the better chance to make the 2021 census produce statistics that will serve the public and policy makers best.

We filled out our census forms in 2016 to provide our society, policy makers, communities and the general public with the statistical information to put services in place to serve all of us. That is why the Census Pilot Survey is so important as the results of it prepare the next census in 2021 to provide relevant and updated statistics that will inform and provide the data for future services for all of us.

Census Pilot Survey is a small scale ‘mini’ census taking place in Offaly. Six other counties around the country are also involved, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Tipperary, Louth and Wicklow amounting to 15,000 homes in total. This is the first pilot survey since 2009 and new questions such as childcare, homeworking, renewable energy, smoking, smoke alarms, volunteering and citizenship are among the topics being trialled. More information is available on censuspilot.ie or call the CSO on 1850 201 604.

In Offaly the areas include Blueball/Mountbolus, Tullamore/Kilbeggan, Tullamore/Screggan and Rathangan/Clonbulloge.