There was an 8.3% increase in the response burden index between 2019 and 2020.  See Table 1 and Figure 1.

The cost of the total administrative burden to business was €4.18 million in 2020, up €323,000 from 2019. See Table 2.

For main headline figures, see Infographic

The response burden is a measure of the total administrative burden placed on Irish enterprises and agricultural holdings by Central Statistics Office (CSO) surveys when calculated on an actual compliance basis¹.

Changes to the response burden include natural fluctuation with enterprises entering and leaving the survey population over the course of the year, and variation in response expected. As some surveys such as the Farm Structure Survey (every 2 to 3 years) and the Census of Agriculture (every ten years i.e. surveyed in 2020), don't take place every year, care needs to be taken when comparing the response burden from one year to that of the previous year.  Improved data and development of methodologies also contribute to variation within the response burden.

The COVID-19 pandemic is another reason why 2020 figures are not directly comparable with 2019. Excluding the excess returns of the 2020 June Agriculture Survey above the 2019 figure, the overall number of forms returned are estimated at 176,200 which is 20,000 less than the returns for 2019. This 10.2% reduction compares with reductions of 1% and 5.4% for the previous two years. Feedback from CSO survey managers indicate that the majority of the 10.2% reduction in 2020 is considered as COVID-19 pandemic related, with the number of forms returned by businesses reduced in approximately two thirds of surveys. This reduction was temporary. A sustained reduction at this level would have a serious impact on statistical quality.

The increase in the response burden level in 2020 reflects the expansion of the 2020 June Agricultural Survey into the decennial Census of Agriculture.  This expansion, with 128,400 more forms issued compared with the 2019 June Agriculture Survey more than offset an annual overall reduction (12,800) in forms issued to businesses from all the other surveys combined in 2020. See Tables 1,2 and Figure 1.

A comparison with 2010, when the previous Census of Agriculture was issued, shows the Administrative Burden - actual compliance was much greater in 2010 with a response burden index of 144.4 compared with 91.1 for 2020.  See Tables 1, 2 and Figure 1.

There are 494,700 active business enterprises (including the latest Farm Population figure) in Ireland, according to the latest estimate. The CSO issued 419,000 survey forms to these enterprises in 2020, or an average of 0.85 survey forms per enterprise. There were 273,200 forms returned as partially or wholly completed, representing an average of 0.55 forms per enterprise. See Table 2.

The total number of hours spent by businesses on responding to surveys in 2020 was 225,500 or 27.3 minutes per business, measured on the basis of forms at least partially completed and actually returned to the CSO (i.e., if burden is based on actual compliance). The administrative cost¹ of actual compliance was €6.9 million, or €14.01 per enterprise, measured on 2013 prices. The administrative burden (i.e. administrative costs less business-as-usual costs), was €4.18 million, or €8.45 per enterprise. See Table 2 & Methodology.

If all survey forms issued by the CSO were partially or wholly completed and returned (i.e., if there had been full compliance), then the total number of hours spent on this task by enterprises in Ireland in 2020 would have been 299,300, or an average of 36.3 minutes per enterprise. The administrative cost of full compliance would have been €9.6 million, or €19.47 per enterprise. The corresponding administrative burden would have been €5.8 million, or €11.74 per enterprise. See Table 2 & Methodology.

The most burdensome survey, in terms of the number of survey forms issued and completed, in 2020 was the June Agricultural Survey, which expanded into the decennial Census of Agriculture with 138,900 forms issued, of which 105,900 were returned partially or wholly completed. The actual compliance administration costs of completing these Census of Agriculture forms in 2020 were €1.2 million where a full compliance administrative costs would be €1.6 million.

In terms of the largest cost for an individual survey, the Trade Intrastat Imports survey was the highest in 2020. The actual compliance administrative costs were €2.1 million whereas a full compliance administrative costs would have been €2.6 million. See PxStat Tables.  

¹Actual compliance basis: calculated on a time and cost basis of fully or partially completed returns to the CSO. This is the preferred method of the European Statistical System for calculating the Response Burden Barometer level.

²The hourly administrative cost figure used in the calculations for non-Trade surveys was €44.00 (based on 2013 figures). For Trade surveys, the administrative cost figure was based on their 2013 Response Burden Survey. The administrative burden of CSO Surveys was 60.3% of the administrative costs figure. Please see Methodology for further details. 

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