Vol. 409 No. 6
17 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for the Environment the total number of private houses completed (a) in the four years 1983 to 1986 inclusive and (b) in the four years 1987 to 1990 inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
20 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for the Environment the total number of local authority dwellings completed in (a) the four years 1983 to 1986 inclusive and (b) the four years 1987 to 1990 inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 20 together.
The total number of local authority dwellings completed in the period 1983 to 1986, inclusive, was 25,231 and in the period 1987-90, inclusive, 6,295. The total number of private dwellings completed in the period 1983-86, inclusive, was 72,479 and in the period 1987-90, inclusive, 65,416.
Would the Minister not accept that the collapse of the figures for the number of house completions during the four years he has been in office is an indictment of his policy? Would he also accept, given the population bulge, that the figure for the number of house completions should be on the increase? Would he further accept that the fall in the figure for the number of house completions is directly related with the fall in the jobs figure?
I do not see any relationship but I should point out that when we took office in 1987 the Government were very conscious of the need to reverse the annual decline in housing output and we have succeeded in doing that.
The figure has fallen from 25,000 to 6,000.
The Minister cannot be serious; the task force are being overworked.
If the Deputies wait until I finish my reply they might see the relevance of what I am saying. The figure for the number of new houses completed fell from 28,917 in 1981 to 15,654 in 1988. It increased to 18,068 in 1989 and 19,539 in 1990.
Can the Minister give us the figure for the number of local authority houses completed?
Would the Minister not accept that only 6,000 local authority houses have been finished during the past four years, 3,000 of which were completed in 1987 because they were started during the term of office of the Fine Gael-Labour Government? Would he agree therefore that only 1,024 local authority houses have been completed in each of the last three years?
Correct.
Would he acknowledge that that amounts to only one-sixth of the number of houses completed during the preceding four-year period?
Would he not, therefore, in the face of these figures tender his resignation to the Government given that he has failed completely in the area of housing?
That would be the honourable thing to do.
I have given the figures and accept that there has been a reduction in the number of local authority housing starts during the past number of years——
Accept responsibility for it.
——but I would point out to the Deputy that the number of applications received in the years referred to was far higher than the number received in the past few years. What I am trying to say is that we have increased the allocation during the past two years for local authority housing and the number of local authority housing starts. In 1987, 15,376 private houses were completed but that figure rose to 18,536 in 1990. I have admitted on several occasions during the past 12 months that there has been an increase in the number on the waiting list but we have initiated the new social housing plan in an effort to redress that matter——
What does this mean? It means nothing.
——and to provide a range of options with a view to increasing the number of households to be accommodated per annum.
It means nothing.
A Cheann Comhairle——
It has to be a brief and final question. We have to deal with other priority questions also.
I appreciate that. I have in front of me the figures for the number of house completions since the foundation of the State. Would the Minister acknowledge that the figures for the number of local authority house completions for each of the past three years are the worst since the foundation of this State with the exception of the three year period immediately following World War II?
I have put the figures on the record. Let me make one interesting point and I am talking here about the total number of applicants housed. The figure in 1983 was 8,125 whereas in 1990 the figure was 5,055. We have to take all matters into consideration when considering statistics.
