asked the Minister for Local Government whether he is aware that his recent instruction to the Kerry County Council to have a limit of £1,000 on unserviced cottages without at the same time reducing the standard of these cottages will have the effect of bringing the building of unserviced cottages in County Kerry to a complete halt and that quotations for only two out of 84 cottages advertised for erection were under £1,000 in reply to a recent advertisement seeking tenders; and, if so, whether he will reconsider his decision with a view to allowing the County Kerry Housing Committee to reduce the standard considered essential by his Department up to now so as to enable housing to proceed in County Kerry.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Kerry Housing.
I have issued no instruction to Kerry County Council fixing a limit of £1,000 on contract prices for cottages to be erected by them.
Tenders for 86 cottages were recently received by the council and tenders for 79 of these cottages were rejected by them, without reference to my Department, on grounds of excessive cost.
In the remaining cases tenders for four cottages were approved by the Department at prices varying from £997 to £1,003 and tenders for three cottages were rejected by reason of the fact that the prices quoted were in excess of the general price level obtaining for cottages with similar accommodation in other areas.
I am prepared to consider any proposals submitted by the council for revised house plans calculated to secure an economy in cost sufficient to justify a reasonable modification of housing standards. The council were informed to this effect in January last.
asked the Minister for Local Government if he will state whether there has been a change of Government policy for housing in Kerry in view of the fact that the County Kerry Housing Committee gave eight contracts for houses in 1951, three in 1952 and one to date in 1953; and, further, whether he has satisfied himself that this slowing downof the housing drive is due mainly to technicalities raised by his Department.
All the suggestions in the Deputy's question are incorrect.