Vol. 429 No. 1
72 Ms McManus asked the Minister for the Environment the up-to-date number of houses in Ireland without a water supply and a flush toilet; and the way in which he intends to meet the needs of those householders who cannot provide these services for themselves.
Up-to-date information on the total number of houses without a water supply or a flush toilet is not available at this stage but the results of the 1991 Census of Population will give this information. The results of the 1980 and 1990 surveys of the housing stock indicate that the proportion of the total stock without an internal water supply had been reduced from 4.3% in 1980 to 2.3% in 1990 and the proportion with no internal W.C. had been reduced from 16.0% to 6.4%.
There is a number of ways in which the provision of water supplied and toilet facilities can be assisted, including group water supply schemes; local authority house improvement loans; the scheme whereby local authorities can have improvement works carried out to the existing accommodation of approved housing applicants as an alternative to rehousing by the local authority; the bathrooms sub-programme for local authority housing; the disabled persons grants scheme; and the Task Force on Special Housing Aid for the Elderly. I intend to keep under review the need for any additional measures in this regard.
