Census won't be used to amend voting register, says Govt
The Government has ruled out using next month’s Census to collect information to correct the voting register which it believes may have 300,000 discrepancies.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte referred in the Dáil to media reports that the personal details of up to 860,000 voters on the database may be inaccurate or out of date.
Mr Rabbitte suggested that thousands of Census enumerators could collect information when they call to every household in the state next month.
At total of 40 regional supervisors, 400 field supervisors and 4,400 enumerators will begin to deliver Census 2006 forms later this month in a nine-week operation costing €50m.
Mr Rabbitte expressed concern about serious inaccuracies in the electoral register which were estimated to be between 719,000-860,000 and enormous in the context of size of the voting population.
“The Census provides an unique opportunity to make a stab at refurbishing the electoral register and making it more consistent with the actual number of people eligible to vote in the country,” he told the Dáil.
However, Mr Kitt said that if both jobs were carried out by the Census enumerators, there was a danger that the coverage and definition of the Census may suffer.
“There needs to be a clear perception in the public mind that the Census is not linked to any other operation,” he said.
“Making the connection between Census delivery and collection and the voting register would have a detrimental effect on the Census and would jeopardise the success of the operation.
“While the deputy has well-founded concerns about the accuracy of the register, the Census of population is not the way to improve it.
“The Census is vital for future local and national planning and I would be concerned if we diluted the work of the enumerators.”
Representing the Taoiseach, Mr Kitt said Environment Minster Dick Roche was urgently addressing the issue with local authorities.
“There are serious issues to be addressed on the electoral register,” he added.
The Dublin TD pointed out that there were also legal concerns as census information is governed by The Statistics Act 1993 which stipulates that all data must be confidential and used for statistical purposes only.
He added: “There is a voting discrepancy, I believe, of the order of 300,000. I totally accept that there are major issues to be addressed, but Mr Roche is dealing with these matters specifically.”
Mr Kitt said that people in countries like Canada and New Zealand can check if they are on the register via the internet and this may be considered by the Government.
Labour TD Ruairi Quinn called on enumerators to deliver voter registration forms with Census forms.
“The enumerator can hand over the voter registration form to the relevant authority and it can be processed in the normal way."
:: The first results of the Census will be published in July.
:: Each household is obliged to fill out the Census form on Census Day, April 23.
:: The CSO has already sought public consultation on proposed new topics to be included in the questionnaire.
:: New questions on different family types, female fertility, ethnicity and voluntary activities will be included this year.
:: Responses to the disability topics will be later used in a post-Census disability survey carried out in September and October, Mr Kitt said.
