NATIONAL STATISTICS BOARD

AGENDA 

Thursday February 22^nd, 2024

CSO, Ardee Road, Rathmines

10.00 to 13.30

National Statistics Board

Minutes

The meeting took place in the CSO Office in Cork and was a hybrid meeting.

Date: Thursday 22^nd February 2024, 10am

Members present: Ms. Anne Vaughan (Chairperson), Ms. Eithne Fitzgerald, Dr. Martina Lawless,
Dr. Clíona Saidléar, Mr. John Shaw, Mr. Jim Scheer*, Ms. Emma Cunningham*, and Mr. Pádraig Dalton*
Non-members in attendance from CSO: Brian Cahill (Secretary) and Paul Morrin

Attended for item 1 only:

John McCarthy, Chief Economist, Department of Finance
Michael Flanagan, Economic Division, Department of Finance
Nigel Clarke, Economic Policy Unit, Department of the Taoiseach
Chris Sibley, ADG for International Accounts, Trade & Government Financial Statistics
Jennifer Banim, ADG for National Accounts and Prices, Central Statistics Office
Senior Statisticians from CSO including: John Flanagan, Orla McCarthy, Stephen McDonagh, John Sheridan, Kieran Culhane, Brian King, Rachel O’Carroll, Brendan O’Dowd.

Attended for item 4 only:

Richard McMahon, ADG for Social and Demographic Statistics, Central Statistics Office

Tim Linehan*, Senior Statistician, IPEADS and Life Events, Central Statistics Office

* attended remotely

Item 1: Macro-Economic Statistics: Current and future data needs

The Board received the following presentations:

• Current & Future Challenges of Measuring the Irish Economy from Chris Sibley, ADG for International Accounts, Trade & Government Financial Statistics, and Jennifer Banim, ADG for National Accounts and Prices, Central Statistics Office
• Use and misuse of Irish GDP from Patrick Honohan, Trinity College Dublin
• Discussion of Ireland’s National Accounts from Seamus Coffey, University College Cork

The discussion between the Board, presenters, CSO senior statisticians and policy colleagues from the Department of Finance and the Department of the Taoiseach highlighted the strides that have been made in in recent years in providing more timely estimates of the macro economy and more meaningful measures of the domestic economy.
It was noted that new standards currently being developed will likely focus on net measures of the economy, which will reduce the distorting effects of multinational activities. Challenges exist in valuing unpaid work in the home, natural resources, environmental services and capital formation (amongst others). It was emphasised that GDP is not a good measure of welfare.
Consideration must be given to how macroeconomic statistics are communicated to the public, with a reduced emphasis on GDP and increased emphasis on net and domestic measures.

Item 2: Minutes of NSB meeting December 7th, 2023

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed.

Item 3: CSO Director General's Report to NSB

The DG’s Report to the National Statistics Board was taken as read and the Board discussed in more detail items including:

Ongoing provision of EIRCODE API: The Board were updated on the latest developments in the provision of an Eircode API. Tailte Éireann will end its provision of the Eircode API at the end July 2024. Public sector bodies are arranging alternative providers in advance of this date. The Board asked that they be kept informed of developments as increased EIRCODE usage is a priority.
Equality Data Strategy: The Board discussed the implementation of the Equality Data Strategy and CSO’s role in providing the Equality Data Hub and the relevant standards for public bodies to adhere to.
Classifications: The Board discussed the demand for new classifications across a range of data outputs and agreed that more classifications which meet users specific needs is preferable. A standardised approach to classifications, led by CSO, must be taken across the Irish Statistical System.
The CSO informed the Board that they are engaging with the Department of Health on the new Regional Health Authorities and whether these geographical areas can be included in CSO outputs or in microdata files.
Artificial Intelligence /Machine Learnings in the Public Sector: The Board discussed the importance of the sharing of knowledge and expertise across the public service and suggested that CSO, as part of their work in the field, engage with relevant officials in the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform who are developing guidelines on the use of AI in the public service.
Stakeholder Engagement: The Board were informed of the early and productive engagement between CSO and Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) in the development of new outputs. This type of engagement with experts could be replicated in other statistical areas to hone the development of outputs, meet user needs and increase productivity.
ISS Data Quality: The Board heard that ISSCOP certification is the primary data quality marker for public sector data provider in Ireland. The NDI Dashboard also illustrates the adherence of public bodies to the NDI. Consideration will be given to the possibility of expanding the Dashboard to include NDI+, including standard classifications.

Item 4:  Initial feedback on NSB seminar on the future of how censuses are conducted in Ireland

The Board discussed the NSB seminar on the Future of How Censuses are Conducted in Ireland which took place on February 1^st 2024 in Dublin Castle. Richard McMahon informed the Board of the CSO’s plans to undertake the public consultation on the topic.

Item 5: AOB

The Board were reminded of NSB meeting dates in 2024.