Managers of communal establishments

If you are the manager of a communal establishment or residential facility (i.e. an establishment providing managed accommodation), please ensure you have read and are aware of the following information.

Examples of communal establishments include:

  • Hotels, hostels, guest houses, or B&Bs
  • Student accommodation
  • Children’s homes or nursing homes
  • Hospitals or nurses’ accommodation
  • Holiday campsites
  • Ships, boats, and barges
  • Prisons
  • Garda stations
  • Defence establishments (including ships)
  • Religious communities.

The Statistics Act, 1993 (Sections 25, 26, 27) and the Statistics (Census of Population) Order, 2020 provide the legal basis for the census. Section 2 of the Order sets out what constitutes a “residential communal establishment”. Section 4 requires the manager or person in charge of such an establishment to provide certain information. Paragraph 5 of the Schedule to the Order details the information to be provided, i.e.

  • The type of residential communal establishment
  • The first name and surname of the persons occupying it on Census Night
  • Confirmation that a form was given to and collected from each such person by the manager or person in charge

The collection and processing of census data, including that required of managers of communal establishments, is also provided for in Article 6 of the GDPR. Article 6 1.(c) provides that data may be processed where the processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation. Article 6 1. (e) allows for data processing where it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.  

Manager’s Responsibilities

As the manager or person in charge of a communal establishment on Sunday 3 April 2022, you must complete a Listing Form, listing all persons present in the communal establishment on Census Night. Everyone who stays there on the night must complete an Individual Form. A Household Form should be completed by families present in homeless accommodation.

Your Census Enumerator will contact you on or before Tuesday 29th March 2022 to arrange a time to deliver the forms your establishment requires. They will explain the forms and what you, or the person in charge of the communal establishment on Census Night, is required to do, and can answer any questions you may have in that regard.

On the morning of Monday 4 April 2022, you should collect completed individual forms in the sealed envelopes provided and keep these in a safe place until your Census Enumerator returns to collect them.

Residents

If you live in the communal establishment with your own family, you should complete a Household Form. If you live in the communal establishment alone or with unrelated persons, you should complete an Individual Form.

If you do not live in the communal establishment but you spend Census Night working there, you should be included in the census form of your usual residential address instead.

Census 2022