THE NEXT CENSUS has been postponed from 2021 to 2022, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has announced. 

The census was originally due to take place on 18 April next year. It will instead take place on 3 April 2022. 

Pádraig Dalton, the director general of the CSO said the census “provides essential information for planning and decision making” in Ireland. 

“It is vital that the Census enables everyone in Ireland to participate so that the information gathered reflects all of our needs and can be used to make decisions that benefit us all,” he said. 

The decision to postpone was based on the need to ensure safety of public and CSO staff as well as the need to deliver a census “that achieves the highest possible response rate” across Irish society. 

“Furthermore, the Census of Population is a major logistical operation and Covid-19 restrictions have prevented or delayed many key planning activities from taking place over recent months,” Dalton said.