asked the Minister for the Environment the names and registered office addresses of the returning officers appointed by him in respect of the most recent elections to the Dáil constituencies in the greater Dublin area.
Written Answers. - Dáil Election Returning Officers.
502.
In accordance with the provisions of section 11 of the Electoral Act, 1963, the appropriate city or county sheriff or county registrar is the returning officer for any Dáil constituency wholly situated within a county or county borough. Where a constituency crosses a county boundary, the Minister for the Environment appoints one or other of the appropriate office-holders to be returning officer. The last such appointments were made following the revision of constituencies in 1974.
Under the above provisions the returning officer for the Dublin city constituencies is the city sheriff, Mr. Michael Hayes, 37 Parliament Street, Dublin 2, the returning officer for the Dublin county constituencies, except South County Dublin) is Mr. John Fitzpatrick, County Sheriff, 35/36 Arran Quay, Dublin 2, and the returning officer for South County Dublin, which includes a part of County Wicklow, is Mr. Philip O'Reilly, County Registrar, Circuit Court Office, Wicklow.
In 1978 Mr. Fitzpatrick succeeded Mr. D. Moran as County Sheriff and in 1977 Mr. O'Reilly succeeded Mr. T.M. Costello as Wicklow County Registrar.
503.
(Cavan-Monaghan) asked the Minister for the Environment the average cost of a house with a floor area of 1,000 square feet or under in each of the years, 1977, 1978 and 1979.
Information in the form requested is not available in my Department. However, Table 19 of the Quarterly Bulletin of Housing Statistics gives information on trends in house building costs and private new house prices. The notes in the bulletin on new house prices show that the houses concerned are not necessarily comparable from one period to another. Indeed, surveys carried out by An Foras Forbartha in 1976, and 1978, revealed a substantial improvement in the standards of privately built houses during this period.