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CSO's Code of Practice on Statistical Confidentiality

Limited Access to Individual Data

The Statistics Act, 1993 specifies the very limited circumstances, listed in the preceding section, in which identifiable information collected by the CSO may be divulged to another person or body.

The Act also allows individual data to be made available for statistical analysis purposes in such form that it cannot be directly or indirectly related to an identifiable person or undertaking. This is a standard practice internationally.

Legal Provisions also exist for the transmission of confidential statistical data in anonymised form to Eurostat - the Statistical Office of the EU - for the purpose of compiling aggregate Community statistics. This transmission is permitted under the terms of an EU Regulation that imposes the very stringent obligations on Eurostat to protect the confidentiality of the data provided.

Confidential information is transferred in anonymous form to the Statistical Office of the EU (Eurostat) for the compilation of aggregate Community statistics under the protective provisions of Council Regulations (EC) No. 1588/90 and No. 322/97. Under further European and Irish legislation, non-anonymised Balance of Payments related statistical microdata may be transmitted by the CSO to the European Central Bank.