Collection of Census 2016 forms to start immediately

The collection of census forms will get under way today, and enumerators will continue to collect forms until May 23rd, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has said.

It appealed for people to keep their completed forms safe and answer the door to their enumerator when they call back.

Once collected, the forms will be returned to Census HQ in Swords, Co Dublin, where they will be stored securely before being scanned over the next six months.

Once all of the data has been captured and checked it will be analysed and published early next year in the form of census reports covering a wide variety of topics.

In a statement, the CSO said the information gathered would be used to inform policymakers and will play a “crucial role” in decision-making on, for example, where to build more houses, new schools, or locate new businesses.