*1926 Irish census – the background story* After the foundation of the State, the first census compiled was in 1926. Subsequent enumerations were also compiled in 1936 and 1946. After this time, the census year was moved to 1951 and each decade thereafter, up to and including 2011. So-called 'Short Censuses' were also compiled in 1956,1966, 1979, 1986, 1996 and 2006. The Statistics Act 1926 made no provision for the eventual release of historical census records. However, neither did the Westminster Acts which related to the 1901 and 1911 censuses, but this didn't stop them being 'officially' made available for public perusal in 1961. And then in 1993, a new bit of legislation – The Statistics Bill 1993 – slapped a 100-year embargo on census data and made provision for it then to be released to the National Archives. This was done without any consultation among interested parties or stakeholder groups. Through effective lobbying led by the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations (CIGO), an amendment via the Seanad (Upper House of Parliament) to the 1993 Bill reduced the embargo to 70 years. The Dail (Lower House) reversed the amendment. Quoting no clear or firm evidence, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) argues that if census returns are not closed for 100 years it will be difficult to ensure that the public will comply with future census campaigns. The flaw in this argument is that while all censuses compiled since 1993 automatically carry a 100-year embargo, no such commitment was given under the earlier 1926 Act. *Redaction* The CSO is convinced that the Irish public cannot easily differentiate between a 100-year closure and a similar policy that closes data until, say, 100 years after an individual's birth. The obvious compromise is to redact! Census records compiled under the 1926 Act, which includes all censuses to 1991, could be opened to the public after 85 years in a redacted form, with all so-called 'sensitive' information removed. *It's worked elsewhere!* UK: The UK introduced an embargo of 100 years in 1961. However, as no promise had been made about everlasting privacy in England and Wales when the 1911 census was taken, the Information Commissioner decided in 2006 that the public had a right of access. From that date the census data began to be released — in redacted form. /The above is a slightly edited version of CIGO's 1926 Census Briefing Document and is reproduced here with the kind permission of CIGO./ --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus