1926 Census, Ireland

1926 Census, Ireland http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/ We the undersigned petition the Taoiseach [Prime Minister] of Ireland, Mr. Brian Cowen TD, to use the powers vested in his office under section 33 (3) of the Statistics Act 1993 to release the complete returns for the 1926 census. Catastrophic destruction befell Irish sources for genealogy and history when the Public Record Office of Ireland was consumed by fire in June 1922. The 1926 census was the first compiled since the foundation of the State and includes a few basic facts about the lives of the many Irish people then living who were born before civil registration began in Ireland in 1864. Over 82 years have passed since the 1926 census was first compiled and given this almost every adult alive at that time is now deceased. In the USA census returns are released 71 years after their compilation. Currently the returns for all surviving US censuses (along with indexes) up to and including that for 1930 can be seen on the Internet. In Ireland, there is a precedent for earlier release of census records. The 1911 census was first made available for research purposes in 1961, only 50 years after it had been compiled. We believe that as the data recorded in the 1926 census was almost identical to that recorded in the 1911 census, then the issue of breach of confidentiality will not arise. We implore the Taoiseach to make the 1926 census returns available to public consultation. Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations*www.cigo.ie*  ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Added by CIGO @ June 30, 2008, 1:06 pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Addendum: A query has been raised about the possible unsuitability of section 33(3) of the Statistics Act for opening the 1926 census. In the unlikely event that anyone who has so far subscribed to the petition also feeling the same CIGO has decided to add the following line to the end of the Petition’s first paragraph: “or to pass amending legislation to achieve the same.” Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:1:53 CDT en-us 3 Laura Lyons Troy http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5927134 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. Catherine Shortt http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5924088 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. Philomena Hibbitts http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5919227 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. john curtin http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5913724 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. Tom Beakey http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5912793 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. John O\'Carroll http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5907072 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. James Curran http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5904366 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. Maurice Daly http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5903366 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. Mary Ruane http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5902676 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. Anna mc Adam http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5901813 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. yes Mark Ruane http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5900348 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. Yvonne Ruane http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5900251 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. elizabeth cooper http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5899950 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. nicholas hammond http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5882666 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. Thomas Latchford http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5881750 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. Carol kidd http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5881155 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. Siobhan McShane http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5877709 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. Ann O Hagan http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5876918 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. Denis Horan http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5875197 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition. kevin kiely http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/1926C/#sig5875035 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:0:00 CST I support this petition.