On 1 March 2022, the Government formally decided to conduct a census of population in 2027 to be carried out by the Central Statistics Office, CSO. The exact census date has not yet been decided. It is expected, however, that census data collection will run in April and May of 2027. Census 2027 will be a major undertaking for the CSO as for the first time in Irish history, the public will have the option of completing the census form online. This is a complex digital transformation programme that involves a fundamental redesign of how the census is conducted. While the majority of the public is likely to avail of the new online option, it is expected that several hundred thousand households will opt to handwrite their census responses on a paper form. Both online and paper census forms will be available in Irish and English. The CSO continues to advance preparatory work for census 2027. The final date of the census and the final content of the census form will be subject to Government decision in due course.

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The question asked the date for the next planned census. All three Deputies have raised issues relating to health and I am not in a position to answer them. What I will take on board is the importance of the CSO and the data it provides. It is very useful to plan for services. Deputy Tóibín said we do not have enough nursing home beds. I am very proud to stand here, as the former Minister of State with responsibility for older people over the past five years, and say that we have the same number of people in nursing homes today under fair deal as we did in 2019. This is because of the Government's investment in home care, day care and meals on wheels, which means that people are able to live for longer in their own homes and communities with the correct wraparound supports. We have capacity in private nursing homes of between 5% and 10% where we do not have capacity in HSE-run community nursing homes. I accept that there may not be capacity in the Deputy's area. It might be 20 or 30 miles down the road but there is some capacity there. It is important to note that we are planning for a move to an online census with the next census. In September 2022, the CSO undertook a small proof-of-concept exercise that explored the feasibility of using an online platform to collect census-type responses. The CSO ran a pilot survey between 2 September and 25 October 2024. The survey was voluntary and took place in 20,000 homes across six counties. Its main objectives were to test the new online census form, the new processes and the technology that were developed to deliver an online census and new and updated census questions. Further development of the data collection and processing systems is under way, taking into account the findings of the census pilot survey and the need to scale up for a full census. Extensive testing of census processes and technologies will take place in 2026. I am happy to take any questions regarding the census.

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