People will be able to add a message to their census replies this year which will be put in a time capsule for a century, the Government Chief Whip has told the Dáil.
Jack Chambers, Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht, also said that eight new questions will be added to this census, including ones on remote working and sustainable energy.
The census is taking place this year on Sunday 3 April.
"This census form will also contain a time capsule for the first time. This optional section of the form will enable householders to complete a message of their choosing," said Mr Chambers.
"These messages will be stored securely with the census forms for 100 years, when they'll be released to the public in line with Section 35 of the Statistics Act 93.
"Detailed information will also be collected on the housing stock by census enumerators. For the first time this information will include a reason for vacancy for dwellings which are found to be vacant," he added.
Richard Boyd Barrett of Solidarity-PBP said his message on the form would be to ask if a century of governments had solved the housing crisis.
"I fear we may well find they haven't," he added.
