With the next census scheduled for the night of Sunday, April 24 next, the Central Statistics Office wants to hear from people interested in becoming a census enumerator.
A total of 4,660 enumerators will be recruited to deliver and collect more than 2.3 million forms across a 10 week period. 122 enumerators will be recruited in Clare.
Applications will be taken online between Tuesday, January 5 and Friday, January 8 or when the number of applicants reaches 15,000.
According to Deirdre Cullen, senior statistician at the CSO, “Every person who applies is interviewed. That is why we cap the number of applications at 15,000. In the 2011 Census, this happened very quickly. That’s why we’re advising people to apply on January 5 to ensure they have an opportunity to be interviewed for the position.”
Enumerators are paid a fixed fee for the delivery and collection of census forms in their area along with fixed allowances for training, home storage, Sunday working, terminal bonus and travel. Enumerators will earn approximately €2,400 for the 10 week period.
The census provides invaluable information on a range of topics and is used by every government department and local authority in the country. Census data feeds into the planning stages of most aspects of Irish life, such as schools, train lines and childcare facilities. It is the CSO’s largest and most challenging statistical undertaking and simply could not be completed without the diligence of the enumerators.
The last census was held on Sunday, April 10, 2011.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.