This year, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) celebrates its 75th birthday.And if The Dealer was into sending birthday greetings to public institutions, then he would certainly put the good old CSO at the top of the list.
This year, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) celebrates its 75th birthday.
And if The Dealer was into sending birthday greetings to public institutions, then he would certainly put the good old CSO at the top of the list.
The institution has provided excellent service to the State over the last three generations by giving the facts and figures behind Ireland’s ever-changing economy and society.
Policy
Although facts and data may be boring, they invariably provide the information blocks on which well-informed policy should be based.
The character of Gradgrind in Dickens’ novel Hard Timesmay have been overly hardcore when he claimed that all teaching should be based on “nothing but facts” – surely ideas, imagination and creativity also matter – however, there is always a place for dull data in good governance.
Arguably, Ireland wouldn’t have as many children locked out of school or childcare places, or people on hospital trollies or families living out of bags if our top civil servants and politicians paid more heed to the CSO.
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