Vol. 218 No. 10
asked the Minister for Local Government in respect of 1965 the average tender prices and the highest tender price applicable to local authority houses for a five-room urban dwelling (1) in Dublin and (2) outside Dublin, sanctioned by his Department.
19.
asked the Minister for Local Government if he will set out, side by side, the approximate recent average tender prices for five-room local authority houses, and the average price charged for a five-room house known to his Department through (a) the granting of local authority loans and (b) otherwise.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 18 and 19 together.
The precise information requested by the Deputy is not available. On the basis of a cross-section of tenders approved in the present year, averages of £2,747 and £2,153 have been calculated for 5-roomed houses in Dublin city and elsewhere, respectively. The highest prices approved for 5-roomed houses in these areas in the same period were £2,872 and £2,503 respectively.
There is no information available in my Department as to the average price charged for houses other than those provided by housing authorities.
20.
asked the Minister for Local Government if, in view of the tender prices which have been secured by housing authorities in 1965, he will sponsor a campaign to encourage housing authorities to build and offer houses at cost to persons who would not normally qualify for a local authority house in order that houses may be provided at a minimum cost and to promote activity in the construction industry.
The primary responsibility of housing authorities is to satisfy existing and future requirements of persons in need of rehousing who are not in a position to provide their own housing accommodation. In so far as private housing is concerned effective measures have already been taken by me, and further steps are proposed in the new Housing Bill to encourage and maintain, with the co-operation of housing authorities, a high level of activity in the private housing sector of the construction industry and to secure all possible economies in the cost of private housing. Indications to date are that demands for new house grants in the private sector are continuing at a very high level and it is anticipated that the record number of allocations for such grants which was reached last year, will be exceeded in the current year.
Could the Minister say whether the houses built under the conditions suggested in the question can in fact be built? Can what is suggested there be carried out under existing legislation?
This matter of the council building houses and providing them for those other than those whom they are responsible for housing?
That is right.
As to the one-third subsidy, there is no real limitation on the number of houses a local authority may build without losing the benefit of that subsidy. Is this to go further and start the local authority dealing as speculative builder?
What Deputy Moore said Dublin Corporation were doing at present and what I said here had been done in County Meath some years ago—that is what we are suggesting. Apparently at that time it was understood that it would continue.
If Deputy Moore says this is being done now in Dublin then, without understanding what is involved fully and in detail, I should say that there is no question that it can continue in the future as in the past.
It can continue?
In so far as I understand the position.
It would be a great idea if the Minister got a brief from his Department about things like this. The question was specific.
The reply is also specific.
It is not.
I suppose we shall have it out between now and Christmas.
