As one State-wide canvassing operation gets under way, another reached its climax last night, when 1.4 million households were due to complete their 2002 census forms, writes Frank McNally
Like hundreds of Dáil candidates, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) is looking for your Number One. But where applicable, it also wants completed entries for Numbers Two to 36 in respect of every person resident in your household overnight, or arriving unenumerated this morning.
Collection of the completed forms will begin today and continue for several weeks. Counting starts in June, and the early tallies (in July) are expected to show the State's population at close to 3.9 million, for the first time since 1871.
Completion of the document is compulsory and failure to cooperate can be punished by fines of up to €25,000.
Delivery of the census booklet has been under way since March, but overlapped with the first postal drops of the election campaign, a coincidence which may have seen some letterboxes filled in recent days with lies, damned lies, and the statistics form.
While a small number of households may not yet have received the form (they can still request one from the helpline number 1890-280402), the delivery operation has been judged a success.
CSO director Gerry O'Hanlon said the office had been "somewhat tense" about the election coincidence, but fears were so far unfounded. "Whether we have any problems at the collection stage, I don't know. Hopefully, people will recognise the ennumerator from the first time and open the door."
The census has been held every five years since 1951, with the exceptions of 1976, when it was cancelled for economic reasons, and 2001, when foot-and-mouth forced a postponement.
From 6.5 million for the equivalent area in 1841, the State's population dipped to a low of 2.8 million in 1961, but was 3.6 million in 1996. The census also provides a lot of other information to policy-makers.