asked the Minister for the Environment if he is aware of the CIF's concern about the number of housing completions for the first five months of the year; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Housing Completions.
34.
I am aware that there has been a drop of less than 5 per cent in the number of new house completions in the first five months of 1986 compared with the corresponding period in 1985. While I am naturally concerned at this development, I am confident that activity in the new private house building sector of the construction industry will recover towards the end of 1986 and during 1987 as the success of the Government's economic policies in restoring a favourable climate for investment, in increasing real disposable incomes, in creating the conditions for declining interest rates and in improving the employment situation will all contribute to increasing demand for new private housing.
Will the Minister not accept that the construction industry has never been in a worse state? The Minister has told us that there has been a drop of less than 5 per cent in respect of new house completions but the CIF do not believe the figures the Minister is using. Will he not agree there is a state of emergency in the construction industry that needs special attention but it is not getting that from the Government?
The previous question related to the Housing Finance Agency and earlier questions related to the extraordinary range of incentives and grants made available by the Government. There has never been a wider or more generous range of grants by the Government to house purchasers and there has never been such availability of finance. I should have mentioned in relation to arrangements regarding HFA and SDA loans that recently I was in a position to reduce the interest rate chargeable on SDA loans by 1½ per cent and that there has also been a fall in the mortgage rate. All of those factors will have a significant effect in improving demand during the coming months and when they are taken together with the general improvement in the economic climate I am confident there will be an upswing in the numbers during the latter half of this year and the early part of 1987.
Will the Minister agree that he totally misled the House in his Estimate speech when he said last year was the best year for the construction industry since the start of the recession? If that is the level of his response, what can we expect from the answers he has given today?
No, I do not agree with the Deputy.
The Minister lives in a different world.