NATIONAL STATISTICS BOARD

Agenda

Venue: Central Statistics Office, Swords, Conference Room Unit 5

Date: Thursday June 23, 2016 at 10.00am

Item 1:            Minutes of April 28, 2016 (NSB 2016-3-2)

Item 2:            NSB recommended actions governance template (NSB 2016-3-3)

Item 3:            Director General’s progress report (NSB 2016-3-4)

Item 4:            Update on CSO resources (NSB 2016-3-5)

Item 5:            Any other business

Tour of Census Processing

National Statistics Board

Minutes

Venue:  CSO Office, Swords

Date:     Thursday 23 June, 2016

The following members attended:

Dr. Patricia O’Hara (Chairperson), Mr. John Callinan, Dr. Helen Johnston, Mr. Gerard O’Neill, Ms. Rowena Dwyer and Mr. Pádraig Dalton.

Ms. Jennifer Banim, Mr. Richard McMahon, Dr. Lucy Fallon Byrne, Mr. Joe Treacy (CSO Senior Management) were also in attendance along with invited guests Mr. Andrew O’Sullivan (incoming Chief Information Officer) and Ms. Elaine O’Mahoney (HOD Communications and Dissemination).

Ms. Claire Hanley acted as Secretary.

Apologies: Mr. Tom Geraghty, Mr. John McCarthy.

Item 1:  Minutes of April 28 2016 (NSB 2016-3-2)

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed.

Item 2: NSB recommended actions governance template (NSB 2016-3-3)

The Board discussed actions taken to progress the concept of a National Data Infrastructure across the public sector and the establishment of an Irish Government Statistical System:

• The NSB plan to hold a workshop on September 8, 2016 entitled ‘Data as a Public Policy Issue’ and will invite a small group of key people from the Irish Statistical System to discuss with the Board  the idea of data as a public good and the value of a National Data Infrastructure (NDI). Following the workshop, the Board's objective is to hold an NSB Seminar (tentatively scheduled for October 25, 2016) which will focus on how the NDI might be advanced and the key issues that need to be addressed. The Seminar format will centre on a panel discussion on these issues.
• A process to recruit an Assistant Director General in Statistical System Co-ordination at the CSO is underway and the Board welcomed the newly appointed Chief Information Officer Mr Andrew O’Sullivan.
  • Dr Patricia O’Hara updated the Board on her recent meetings with Mr Barry Lowry (GCIO) and Mr Muiris O’Connor (Department of Health).
  • Dialogue continues between the CSO working group and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on the Data Sharing and Governance Bill.
    • CSO prepared a document showing the interaction between the Data Protection legislation and the Statistics Act 1993. The ultimate objective is to have a document agreed by both the CSO and ODPC which defines the interaction between the two Acts and gives organisations guidance on data protection issues.

The Board welcomed Ms Elaine O’Mahoney who was appointed new Head of Communication and Dissemination at CSO. Her key priority initially will be the User Survey.

Item 3: Director General’s progress report (NSB 2016-3-4)

The Director General briefed the Board on a number of recent developments within CSO and at European level. Specific issues were selected for further discussion.

National Income and Expenditure

The National Accounts results for 2015 will be released the first week in July, along with the Quarter 1 2016 estimates, and will incorporate statistical revisions for a number of back years.

Scrutiny

The Gross National Income (GNI) Inventory for Ireland was submitted at the end of 2015. The visits, which will be a mixture of general and targeted verification meetings, are likely to start for Ireland in Q4 2016 and will focus on key areas of importance for an economy. The biennial EDP dialogue visit from Eurostat will also take place in Q4 2016, again with targeted sessions focusing on key issues, including meetings with data providers. Finally, as the CSO contributes information to Revenue for the VAT Own Resources calculation, the office will be involved in the Revenue VAT Own Resources audit scheduled by DG Budget for late 2016.

The Board discussed the importance of clarity for Member States in applying the rules as set out in the manual on the European System of Accounts and that there should be no room for ambiguity in their interpretation.

Census 2016

Enumerators completed their field work on May 27th having collected 1.73 million Census forms.  The preliminary population and housing figures will be published on July 14, 2016 based on the Enumerator summary counts.  All forms will be scanned and processed by the middle of December 2016 to facilitate production of the full suite of Census dissemination products in 2017.

The Board congratulated the Census team on their hard work and were given a tour of the Swords office and the various stages of processing of the Census following the meeting.

International Conference on Big Data

The CSO are hosting the 3rd International Conference on Big Data for Official Statistics in Dublin Castle from the 30th August - 1 September. The conference will bring together approximately 300 delegates for discussion and presentations structured around three key themes in the area of Big Data: Access and Partnership; Training, Skills and Capacity Building; Big Data and Sustainable Development Goals.

The Board welcomed this event and discussed the impact on resources of the Sustainable Development Goals for both statistics and Government.

Structure of Earnings 2011 - 2014

The first results from this project, which replaces the National Employment Survey with data based on administrative records, will be published in July with an explanatory paper to be issued in advance of releasing the results for 2014.  This will be followed by results for the years 2011 to 2013.

Draft FRIBS Regulation and SIMSTAT (Exchange of Exports of Goods Micro-data with other Member States)

The main outcome from the May 2016 ESSC Workshop on the Modernisation of Intrastat was that the SIMSTAT section of the FRIBS regulation would include mandatory exchange of identifiable micro-data but voluntary use of the exchanged data.  At the Workshop, UK, Sweden, Hungary and Ireland opposed the exchange of identifiable micro-data.  The draft FRIBS regulation is now being taken forward by Eurostat in the Business Statistics Directors Group (BSDG).  On the current timetable, FRIBS will become a formal Commission proposal to Council and Parliament in late 2016 or early 2017. This is still very early in the legislative process and a considerable period of negotiation in Council and Parliament lies ahead.

The Board discussed the impact of the outcome of the ESSC Workshop despite the objections raised by Ireland and other countries. It noted the meeting scheduled for July between CSO and Eurostat to discuss the issues raised by CSO throughout the process.

Residential Property Price Index

The aRPPI results will be published in September 2016 followed by information sessions with key users, to explain the improved methodology ahead of the September launch of the new index. The Board welcomed the September publication of the aRPPI.

Staff Engagement and Innovation Programme at CSO

A new Engagement and Innovation Programme has been developed and agreed by the CSO Management Board. Dynamic Local Teams (DLTs) will identify areas for development and improvement locally and will initiate smart projects to address these challenges. This team will be supported by a new corporate engagement and innovation structure chaired by the Director General and a Staff Engagement Officer whose duties will include the establishment and operation of the Engagement and Innovation Framework, the Civil Service Employee Engagement Survey and the Well Being initiative. 

The Board noted the progress in staff engagement in the CSO and discussed the approach of DLTs when engaging with cross-cutting issues.

Item 4:  Update on CSO resources (NSB 2016-3-5)

• A new Head of Communication and Dissemination, Ms Elaine O'Mahoney, has been appointed and is due to begin work on the June 27, 2016.
• A new Chief Information Officer (ADG level), Mr Andrew O’Sullivan, has been appointed and is due to begin work on July 4, 2016.
• TLAC process for the appointment of an Assistant Director General, Statistical System Coordination is underway.
• An open Senior Statistician competition is currently underway and is being run through the Public Appointments Service.
• An open Statistician competition was launched on June 17, 2016 and is being run by the CSO.

Item 5:  Any other business

Dr Patricia O’Hara informed the Board that the Government, on the request of the Taoiseach, has delegated powers and duties conferred on him in relation to the CSO and NSB to Ms Regina Doherty, Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach.

Dr O’Hara also updated the Board on the recent classification of the Road Safety Authority to Other National Authority (ONA) status responsible for European statistics.

The next meeting of the Board will take place on September 8, 2016 at the Department of the Taoiseach and will coincide with a workshop titled 'Data as a Public Policy Issue'.