asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health whether his attention has been called to statements made at a recent meeting of the Waterford Borough Council concerning his refusal to sanction the acceptance of a tender for 70 houses with external walls of brick and roofs of Irish slates; whether he will state (a) if in fact he refused sanction to the acceptance of the tender in question, (b) the reasons for his decision in the matter, (c) the respective building cost per house at the lowest tenders for (1) external walls of brick and Irish slates for roofs, (2) external walls of brick and concrete tiles for roofs, (3) all walls of concrete blocks and concrete tiles for roofs, and (d) if he took into account the loss of employment in the use of concrete blocks as compared with locally made bricks in reaching a decision in reference to the tenders in question.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Waterford Housing.
My attention has been called to the statements referred to in the question. (a) I have refused sanction to the tender proposed to be accepted by the Corporation. (b) The Council decided, subject to my sanction, to accept a tender for 70 houses with external walls of brick coated with plaster, and roofs of Irish slate, rendered on the under side, at a cost of £22,066, in preference to a tender by the same contractor of £20,079 for walls of concrete blocks (similarly coated with plaster) and roofs of concrete tiles. The difference in cost, £1,987, over the whole scheme is equal to an average of approximately £28 per house, and would provide for six additional four-roomed houses. If the roofs were to be of concrete tiles in both tenders the difference would be £1,040, or, say, £15 per house. In either case the specification provided that the walls were to be plastered outside as well as inside. (c) The building cost per house at the lowest tenders for (1) external walls of brick and Irish slates for roofs was £315; (2) external walls of brick and concrete tiles for roofs was £302; (3) all walls of concrete blocks and concrete tiles for roofs was £287. I am satisfied that employment will not be lessened by the use of concrete blocks in the building of the houses.
asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health whether his attention has been directed to the statement of the Mayor of Waterford made at a recent meeting of the Borough Council to the effect that if the Corporation were to continue building houses of an inferior type such as his Department insisted that they should build, they would find themselves in a precarious position endeavouring to maintain them; whether he can state if the cost of maintaining Waterford Corporation's concrete houses is excessive; and, if so, whether he proposes to consult with the Waterford Corporation in regard to future schemes so as to secure a type of house that can be maintained at less expense.
My attention has been drawn to the statement of the Mayor of Waterford. I cannot accept the implication in the question that houses of an inferior type are being constructed in Waterford and that there will be an undue cost cast upon the Corporation in maintaining them. I am not aware that the cost of maintaining houses erected by the Waterford Corporation is excessive.