With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 16 together.
The review of capital expenditure on housing and sanitary services which has been in progress on the basis of the Government's White Paper on Public Capital Expenditure has now been completed and I hope to be in touch with local authorities shortly in regard to the amount of capital which will be made available to them from public funds within the next financial year for these purposes, and the schemes which they may proceed with within that allocation. Sanctions to schemes will issue accordingly.
As regards private enterprise housing the records of my Department to date do not indicate that there is any general fall in the overall building activity in this sector. On the contrary, on the basis of the completion figures to date, it is expected that the total number of completed houses for the current financial year will exceed the record total reached in 1964-65. Allocations of new house grants are also proceeding at record levels.