The Census of Ireland 2011 was held on Sunday, 10 April 2011. It was administered by the Central Statistics Office

Central Statistics Office (Ireland)

The Central Statistics Office is the statistical agency responsible for the gathering of "information relating to economic, social and general activities and conditions" in Ireland, in particular the National Census which is held every five years. The office is answerable to the Taoiseach and has...

 of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 and found the population to be 4,581,269 people.. Before the census, the latest population estimate was published in September 2010 and calculated that the Irish population had been 4,470,700 in April 2010. The previous census took place five years earlier, on Sunday, 23 April 2006.

Preparation for the census

The Central Statistics Office carried out a census pilot survey on 19 April 2009 to test new questions and methods for the 2011 census. The Irish government met on 11 December 2009 and scheduled the census to take place on 10 April 2011. The meeting also defined the questions that would be asked in the questionnaire.
Census campaigns

There were also campaigns by the Atheist Ireland group, and by The Humanist Association of Ireland, asking people to consider carefully their answer to the question about religion.

Recruitment
The Central Statistics Office hired a temporary field force of 5,500 people. The recruitment was performed in a pyramid structure, with 50 senior managers, 440 field supervisors, and 5,000 enumerators hired in succession. Hiring of senior managers for the census took place between 29 April and 12 May 2010. Recruitment of 440 census field supervisor positions began on 16 September 2010. The supervisors worked from their own homes around the country for a six month contract. The 5,000 census enumerator positions were advertised on 29 December 2010, and these worked for ten weeks from 8 March 2011.
Field work

Enumerators began a field campaign on 10 March 2011 to deliver about 1.8 million census forms to every household in Ireland in the month before Census Day. Following the census, the forms were collected between 11 April and 9 May 2011.

Questions on the census form

Household questions
H1	What type of accommodation does your household occupy?
H2	When was your house, flat or apartment first built?
H3	Does your household own or rent your accommodation?
H4	If your accommodation is rented, how much rent does your household pay?
H5	How many rooms do you have for use only by your household?
H6	What is the main type of fuel used by the central heating in your accommodation?
H7	What type of piped water supply does your accommodation have?
H8	What type of sewerage facility does your accommodation have?
H9	How many cars or vans are owned or are available for use by one or more members of your household?
H10	Does your household have a personal computer (PC)?
H11	Does your household have access to the Internet?
H12	Go to next page.

Individual questions
1	What is your name?
2	Sex?
3	What is your date of birth?
4	What is your relationship to Persons 1, 2, 3 and 4?
5	What is your current marital status?
6	What is your place of birth?
7	Where do you usually live?
8	Where did you usually live one year ago?
9	Have you lived outside the Republic of Ireland for a continuous period of one year or more?
10	What is your nationality?
11	What is your ethnic or cultural background?
12	What is your religion?
13	How many children have you given birth to?
14	Can you speak Irish?
15	Do you speak a language other than English or Irish at home?
16	Do you have any of the following long-lasting conditions or difficulties?
17	It you answered "Yes" to 16, do you have any difficulty in doing any of the following?
18	How is your health in general?
19	How do you usually travel to work, school or college?
20	What time do you usually leave home to go to work, school or college?
21	How long does your journey to work, school or college usually take?
22	Do you provide regular unpaid personal help for a friend or family member with a long-term illness, health problem or disability?
23	If you are aged under 15 go to Question 34.
24	Have you ceased your full-time education?
25	What is the highest level of education/training (full-time or part-time) which you have completed to date?
26	What is the main field of study of the highest qualification you have completed to date?
27	How would you describe your present principal status?
28	If you are working, unemployed or retired go to Question 29.
	If you are a student go to Question 34.
	Otherwise go to Question 35.
29	Do (did) you work as an employee or are (were) you self-employed in your main job?
30	What is (was) your occupation in your main job?
31	if you are retired go to Question 35.
32	What is (was) the business of your employer at the place where you work(ed) in your main job?
33	If you are unemployed go to Question 35.
34	What is the full name and address of your place of work, school or college?
35	Answer questions for Person 2 starting on the next page. If there is only one person present in the household on the night of 10 April go to page 22.

Absent persons who usually live in the household [page 22]
A1	What is this person's name?
A2	Sex?
A3	What is this person's date of birth?
A4	What is the relationship of this person to Person 1 on page 4?
A5	What is this person's current marital status?
A6	How long altogether is this person away for?
A7	Was this person in the Republic of Ireland on Sunday 10 April?
A8	Is this person a student away at school or college?

Results
The first statistics were released in the Preliminary Population Report on 30 June 2011. The population on Census Night in April was 4,581,269, a figure based on summary counts for each enumeration area compiled by enumerators on the front page of the census forms. This figure was 110,569 more than the estimated population for April 2010. The definitive census publication, based on the scanned and processed census forms, is to be published between March and December 2012.
External links

• Irish Census website
• Central Statistics Office website
• The census form
• How We Do It — Detailed census narrative from the Irish Census website