asked the Minister for Local Government the stage at which his Department consider a house as being completed for record purposes.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - House Completions.
16.
Grant-aided private houses are regarded as completed when the final part of the State grant is paid. Local authority houses are regarded as completed when they are ready to be occupied.
Can the Minister state whether it has been the practice to withhold part of the final payment of a grant where, in the opinion of the housing inspectors, certain small works may not have been completed to their satisfaction and, where small amounts of the grants have been withheld in this way, does the Minister consider that those are completed houses?
The criteria for recording these houses have been in operation in the Department for many years and have not been changed. Therefore Deputy Molloy should know what exactly the answer is to the question he has asked.
Arising out of the Minister's non-answer, will he take off the blinkers and attempt to give me an answer to the question I asked? If a small sum of the final grant payment is withheld due to the non-completion, to the satisfaction of the inspector, of some small works does the Minister consider that a completed house or not?
If the Deputy learned to ask a question in a civil manner he might receive a civil reply but as long as he tries to be insulting he can only expect the type of reply I have just given.
I am calling the next question.
I have not received a reply to the question I put to the Minister. If a small portion of the final grant payment is withheld due to the non-completion of the house——
This is the third time this question has been put.
The Chair is being most unreasonable.
It is not the fault of the Chair if the Deputy does not receive a reply.
It happens that where a small item is not completed to the satisfaction of the housing inspector sums of £10 to £15 are withheld from the final payment and I should like to know if the Minister considers that a completed house despite the fact that the full final payment has not been made.
The position is as it always was. If all the grant has been paid by the Department then the house is considered completed. If a portion of the grant has not been paid then the house is not completed. I thought Deputy Molloy might know that answer.
Arising further from the Minister's reply——
The Deputy should allow the Chair to make some appreciable progress. I am passing on to the next question. The Deputy has already asked four supplementaries.
I asked one supplementary and I had to repeat it a number of times before I received an answer.
The Chair is calling the next question and the Chair must be in control of Question Time.
I had to put the question three times before I received a reply.