Ireland: what does the CSO publish for NACE Rev. 2.1?

The Central Statistics Office, CSO, publishes a NACE classification page that describes the structure, the change to NACE Rev. 2.1, and the implementation of the new version in Irish statistics. The CSO states that during 2025 (FIXED, as stated by the CSO for that year) Eurostat finalised its NACE guidance documentation and the CSO Business Register completed work on updating the coding of enterprises to NACE Rev. 2.1.

The CSO also states that from 2026 (FIXED, as published by the CSO) it will begin implementing the new version across statistical outputs, on a gradual basis according to the timelines in EU regulations, starting with Business Statistics and Labour Force Statistics, and that from January 2026 (FIXED) onwards outputs will begin to be published using NACE Rev. 2.1. Ireland therefore has no separate national version name for the change: the classification used is NACE itself, as published by Eurostat, and the CSO page is the national place where the implementation is described.

What does the CSO page state about the structure?

The CSO page states the four level hierarchy: sections identified by an alphabetical code, divisions by a two digit code, groups by a three digit code, and classes by a four digit code. It states that NACE is derived from the United Nations International Standard Industrial Classification, ISIC, and is more detailed than ISIC at lower levels. It states that the most obvious structural change in NACE Rev. 2.1 is the split of the previous Section J into Section J for publishing, broadcasting and content production and distribution activities, and Section K for telecommunication, computer programming, consulting, computing infrastructure and other information service activities, with many other changes at division, group and class level, and with conceptual changes in outsourcing and intermediation. A summary of the main changes is given in section 4 of Eurostat’s introductory guidelines, as the CSO notes, and correspondence tables provided by Eurostat present detailed information on classes where activities move. The CSO page therefore points a reader to Eurostat for the detailed record, and describes the national implementation itself.

CSO statement	Content
Structure	Four levels, letter, two, three and four digit identifiers
Most obvious change	Section J split into J and K
Business Register work	Coding of enterprises updated to NACE Rev. 2.1 during 2025 (FIXED)
Implementation	Gradual, from 2026 (FIXED), starting with Business and Labour Force Statistics

The table above follows the CSO page. It states no fifth level for Ireland, because no Irish fifth level was stated on the CSO page fetched for this guide.

How does implementation proceed in Ireland?

Implementation proceeds gradually, domain by domain, according to EU regulation timelines. The CSO states that from January 2026 (FIXED) onwards, outputs will begin to be published using NACE Rev. 2.1, starting with Business Statistics and Labour Force Statistics, amongst others, and that over time NACE Rev. 2 will be replaced by NACE Rev. 2.1 in CSO statistical production. A reader of an Irish statistic should therefore check the version note in the publication, not the calendar date alone. A statistic published in 2026 (FIXED) may use the new version in one domain and the old version in another, depending on the domain timetable. The CSO advises readers to look for updates from the different statistical production teams, and to contact them directly for information about specific transition plans. That advice is the practical route for a domain not covered by the general statement on the NACE page. This guide does not assert a domain by domain timetable for Ireland, because none was stated on the CSO page fetched for this work.

Where are correspondence tables and notes found?

Correspondence tables and explanatory notes are found through Eurostat’s ShowVoc platform, as the CSO states, and the CSO page attaches the Eurostat documentation for convenience, including the manual and guidelines, the explanatory notes, and the correspondence tables. The CSO states that correspondence tables show the relationship between NACE Rev. 2 and NACE Rev. 2.1, and that they are available on ShowVoc or by contacting the CSO classifications team. A reader who needs the movement for a heading should use the Eurostat table, and a reader who needs the meaning of a heading should use the Eurostat note. The CSO page itself does not list class level rows, and this guide does not list them either. The detailed record is in the Eurostat documents that the CSO points to.

What does a NACE code not decide in Ireland?

A NACE code does not decide any question about a specific business beyond its statistical description. It does not decide tax, social security, licensing, funding or collective agreement questions. The EUR-Lex summary states that the European legislation only applies to statistical purposes. The classification groups activities for statistics. Other bodies apply their own rules to the questions they decide. The entry for a specific enterprise is held in the CSO Business Register as updated to NACE Rev. 2.1, and the CSO page is the place to start a check of the national implementation. This site holds no register and decides no entry. A reader who needs the entry for a specific enterprise should confirm it with the CSO or the register that holds it, with the version stated beside the code.

The CSO completed Business Register coding to NACE Rev. 2.1 during 2025 (FIXED), Irish outputs move to the new version gradually from January 2026 (FIXED), and Eurostat tables and notes linked from the CSO page show the movement and meaning for each heading.