asked the Taoiseach the average number of employees in the private sector of the building and construction industry in (a) 1974 (b) 1975 and (c) 1976.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Building and Construction Industry.
2.
The information requested by the Deputy is available in the form of a monthly index number series derived from returns from a sample of building firms. This index takes the year 1975 as base. The averages of the 12 monthly figures for each year were as follows: 1974, 110.2; 1975, 100.0; 1976, 90.8.
Could the Parliamentary Secretary give an indication of the average number employed?
No. In regard to the Deputy's question, which relates specifically to the private sector, I am told that the information is collected by a sample of firms and the sample corresponds to a base number, so that an increase or a decrease in employment can be calculated in that way. All I can do is tell the Deputy about the total number of persons engaged in the entire building and construction sector. I have got those figures, at least on the labour force survey, but they do not differentiate between the private and public sectors.
I shall ask another question on that.