Supply data or face legal action

Legal action could be taken against those who did not fill the population and housing census questionnaire, National Statistic Office director general Michael Pace Ross warned.

The law obliges everyone to cooperate with the census, taken every 10 years, because the data collated provides a clear picture of the population.

Those who do not comply can face legal action and can be fined €232 according to the Census Act.

Mr Pace Ross explained that, so far, the NSO had collected 96 per cent of the 140,000 questionnaires sent to households. Although the percentage was very high, the NSO wanted to try and get as much data as possible.

The NSO was in the process of going through the questionnaires in its possession in a bid to determine who had failed to fill it. They would be receiving legal letters informing them of their duty to comply with the law and send in their questionnaire, he said. If they failed to comply, they could face legal action. Mr Pace Ross insisted that the NSO was not interested in the fines but was after collecting the data.