268 enumerators are to be employed in Galway for the duration of next April’s Census collection, it has been confirmed by the Central Statistics Office.
The CSO is advising anyone interested in becoming a census enumerator to apply on January 5, the first day the application process opens. Applications will be taken online between Tuesday January 5 and Friday January 8 or when the number of applicants reaches 15,000.
A total of 4,660 enumerators will be recruited to deliver and collect more than 2.3 million forms across a ten week period. 268 enumerators will be recruited in Galway.
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 5th 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 ten week period. All enumerators are required to be signed up as Officers of Statistics which forbids them from divulging any information obtained as part of their official duties.
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.
