The Central Statistics Office (CSO; Irish: An Phríomh-Oifig Staidrimh) is the statistical agency responsible for the gathering of "information relating to economic, social and general activities and conditions" in Ireland, in particular the census which is held every five years.
The CSO was established on a statutory basis in 1994 to reduce the number of separate offices responsible for collecting statistics for the state.
[2] The CSO had existed, as an independent ad hoc office within the Department of the Taoiseach from June 1949, and its work greatly increased in the following decades particularly from 1973 with Ireland joining the European Community.
On 15 September 2020, on the advice of the Central Statistics Office, the Government postponed the quinquennial population census, originally scheduled for 18 April 2021, until 3 April 2022 because of health and logistical obstacles caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
[3][4] The current Director-General of the Central Statistics Office is Jennifer Banim.