asked the Minister for Local Government if he is aware of the acute shortage of houses; and if, in order to ease the present situation in this regard, he will arrange for the payment of an additional subsidy for the erection of dwellings suitable for workers in the middle income range.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Housing Shortage.
The real difficulty in building at the present time is the shortage of certain essential supplies and skilled labour. All the materials and skilled labour available for house-building are being used to the fullest extent and the problem is not one of finding means of stimulating building activity but of dealing adequately and fairly with the applications for building licences for slum clearance housing schemes, private enterprise housing, industrial projects, etc. This position could not be eased by payment of additional subsidies. Accordingly, it is not proposed at present to depart from the existing scheme.
Would the Minister tell us what the skilled labour is that is short?
I think the Deputy will have to take the word of the Minister for Industry and Commerce in relation to that, or of the Department of Industry and Commerce, which has stated recently that owing to the shortage of building craftsmen it is likely the rate of progress in building will depend on the number of men who return from Great Britain during the next few months.