(South Tipperary) asked the Minister for Local Government when the last annual report was issued by his Department; to what year it referred; and when the next annual report is likely to be issued.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Report of Local Government Department.
24.
The Department's annual report for 1963-64 was issued in April, 1966. It is expected that the report for 1964-65 will be available for issue next month.
Would the Minister agree that it is highly desirable that the period between publication and the years to which the report refers should be narrowed in order to have some useful material available to people who are interested in the working of the Department?
I agree it should be narrowed as much as possible but it is a very difficult task to collect all the statistical material relating to the work of local authorities and get it into a form suitable for printing and then to get the actual printing done.
Would the Minister endeavour to expedite the working of the Stationery Office because I think he will agree with me there is a tremendous delay between the time material is furnished to the Office and the time the publication is issued?
There is a time lag there.
The Minister likes to be reading documents which are several years old——
(Interruptions.)
It is the old ones you are looking at.
All the Labour Party have to do is study what the Government are doing and put it down and claim it as a policy. We are already doing what the Labour Party have suddenly announced as policy.
The Minister got badly caught.