Committee Reports::Report - Appropriation Accounts 1961 - 1962::11 July, 1963::Appendix


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APPENDIX IV.

CENTRAL STATISTICS OFFICE: TASKWORK.

An Cléireach,

An Coiste um Chuntais Phoiblí.

In fulfilment of the undertaking which I gave in the course of my examination before the Committee of Public Accounts on 31st January, 1963, I now forward for the information of the Committee a note on taskwork performed by staff of the Central Statistics Office in connection with the annual Census of Agriculture conducted by that Office.

	(Sinithe) T. K. WHITAKER,
	Rúnaí,
22 Márta, 1963.	An Roinn Airgeadais.

Note on Taskwork performed by Staff of the Central Statistics Office in connection with the Annual Census of Agriculture.

In conducting the Census of Agriculture in June of each year the Garda enumerators collect information under a wide number of headings—over 100 in all—in respect of each farm in selected District Electoral Divisions. The information collected includes areas under various crops, livestock numbers, types of machinery in use, etc. 60% of District Electoral Divisions are normally covered in the Census.

The particulars for each farm included in the Census are entered in special enumeration books and the totals for each page are totted by the Garda enumerators. The subsequent summarisation to provide totals for each District Electoral Division is performed by officers of the Central Statistics Office on taskwork. This work involves transferring the page totals in the enumeration books to summary forms and the totting and balancing of these forms. The work may be performed either in the Office outside normal working hours or alternatively in officers’ own homes. Payment for the work is based on the overtime rate for the Clerk-Typist grade, the work being appropriate to that grade. The present rate is 8½d. for each line of an enumeration book entered in a summary form. The total expenditure in 1961/62 which related to the Census of Agriculture conducted in June, 1961 was £708.

Taskwork is regarded as a more satisfactory method of doing this work than normal overtime because of the difficulty of maintaining a high output for an extended period on work of this nature and the fact that no supervision is required.