asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the nature of the inquiries relating to post-war housing conditions undertaken by the committee established under the chairmanship of Mr. Ingrim; whether any report has been made by the committee, and if he is in a position to make a statement at an early date as to the intentions of the Government regarding post-war housing problems, having in mind priorities for particular building schemes, the availability of essential materials and the supply of the required skilled labour.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Post-War Housing—Building Material Priorities.
Mr. Corish
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state whether any decision has been reached concerning priorities in regard to the availability of building material for the different classes of building projects; and, if so, what is the nature of such decision; whether any arrangements have been made to make building materials available at an early date to local authorities; and, if so, to what extent.
I propose to reply to question No. 17 and question No. 18 together.
The Deputy misunderstands the functions being carried out by my Department in relation to building in the post-war period. A special division of my Department was established some months ago to deal with post-war conditions in the building industry with particular reference to shortage of materials and skilled labour. Associated with this division is an advisory council for the building industry, but the consideration of what I understand the Deputy to mean by "post-war housing conditions" is not a function of the new division of my Department nor of the advisory council.
With the help of the advisory council and its committees, the new division is endeavouring to secure the maximum quantities of building materials for post-war projects and to deal with the problem of a possible shortage of labour. From the information already obtained, it seems inevitable that some system of building priorities will have to be instituted. The question of laying down and carrying out priority principles is at present under active consideration. It may be assumed that housing will have a high place in any scheme of priorities that may be introduced.