asked the Minister for Local Government the number of additional houses which will be built this year as a result of the provision of £7 million announced recently.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Housing Statistics.
31.
This extra money will be used to start about 3,500 extra local authority houses in the course of the year and will help to maintain the present high level of activity and employment in the programme.
Is the Minister aware that complaints from various local authorities point to a serious fall in the allocation of money for housing, with one notable exception? How can the authorities carry out their present commitments unless extra money is made available?
Deputy Faulkner has raised a general question. If he puts down a specific question on these matters I will be glad to give him an answer next week.
Surely I am entitled to ask a supplementary question on the provision of £7 million in order to find out what use is to be made of it. I pointed out in my supplementary question that there are complaints from almost every local authority that not sufficient money is made available to them——
Repetition of this kind is not in order.
I want to know if this money will be made available to them or if it will come from this £7 million?
I have already said that the Government gave £51 million for housing this year. This is nearly three times as much as Fianna Fáil gave for housing for their last year in office. The officers of my Department are going to the various councils to find out what extra money they require. They will recommend to me and make an extra allocation to each local authority and this money will then be made available.
Is the Minister aware that his Department's house building cost index for January shows an increase of 2.5 per cent? This index relates to labour and material only. This constitutes approximately 65 per cent of the total cost. The real increase, therefore, is approximately 3.8 per cent——
The Deputy is enlarging on the subject matter of this question.
Would the Minister agree that at this rate the £7 million will be used up in higher costs and in a very short time?
We cannot debate this matter today.
I do not agree. I repeat that during the period of the last Government, the best they could do was 4,000 local authority houses and this year we are building 7,000.
Would the Minister indicate if the figure given means a completed house or a house that will be started and further moneys will have to be provided for its completion?
Deputy Power should be aware that this is an on-going process.
I am not so aware and that is why I am asking this simple question.
I do not understand what the Deputy is talking about.
I understand that it costs £5,000 to build a house. The amount of money made available by the Minister will not build the number of houses promised.
Even Deputy Faulkner is saying Deputy Power is wrong. Deputy Power does not know what he is talking about.
I said that the price stated by Deputy Power was too low.
My reckoning is that the amount of money——
A question please, Deputy.
——the Minister made available will not complete the number of houses——
That is not a question. Question No. 32.
How does the Minister intend to finish these houses? Does he intend to make more money available?
The Deputy already asked that question.
May I have an answer?
Deputy Power and I will have to live until the end of the year and then we will be able to count the houses, as we did during the last two years.
Am I to take it then that they will not be completed this year?
They will be completed.
(Interruptions.)
Question No. 32.
Arising from the Minister's reply——
I have called the next question.
I have one supplementary——
Deputy Burke, please. Question No. 32.
There were only about three supplementaries.
I gave a lot of leeway on the question, Deputy Burke.
I am very anxious to ask just one supplementary. Did the Minister state that they would start 3,500 houses or build 3,500 houses?
I said that the extra money will be used to start about 3,500 extra local authorities houses——
To start?
——and will help to maintain the present high level of activity and employment in the programme.
With the emphasis on the word "start".
I am sure Fianna Fáil Deputies are aware that houses started are not the only houses on which money is spent during the year. Houses are also being completed.