asked the Minister for Local Government if any survey has been or is being carried out on the level of overcrowding of living accommodation in the various parts of Ireland; if such surveys are carried out on an international basis by any international organisation of which Ireland is a member; and if he will give the latest results of such surveys.
Written Answers. - Overcrowding Survey.
68.
Information on the density of occupation of housing in particular areas is obtained in the course of population censuses and is published by the Central Statistics Office in the census volumes relating to housing and households.
I am not aware that any international organisation has carried out surveys of the extent of overcrowding in individual countries. Statistics of the average numbers of persons per room, which is a crude indicator of the density of occupation, have been published for a number of countries by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and were set out in Appendix V of the White Paper "Housing in the Seventies". The White Paper estimated that a total of 20,000 houses were required to meet needs arising from the existence of over-crowded conditions.