asked the Minister for Local Government when the Quarterly Bulletin of Housing Statistics in respect of the quarter ended 31st March, 1974, will be published; and the reason for the delay in publication.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers (Resumed). - Bulletin of Housing Statistics.
30.
The Quarterly Bulletin of Housing Statistics for the quarter ended the 31st March, 1974, was published on the 23rd May, 1974.
There was no delay in issuing the Bulletin, which was published 7½ weeks after the end of the quarter. The last three bulletins relating to the period in which the Deputy was Minister were issued 13 weeks, 12 weeks and 13 weeks respectively after the close of the quarter to which they related.
I understood, either from comments the Minister made or from comments I heard elsewhere, that the arrangements whereby the building societies supply the information necessary for the compilation of this booklet on housing statistics had been improved and that this information was now coming to the Department much more quickly than heretofore and it was in view of that that I thought the publication of the booklet might have been available before the end of the month of April. Will that not be possible in the future?
I am glad to say it has been improved and, as a result, we have been able to get down from the Deputy's time of 13 weeks, 12 weeks and 13 weeks respectively—a substantial improvement.