Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 September 2012
1100. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government the annual cost of producing the average house price series by his Department; the justification for this expenditure in view of the Central Statistics Office monthly Residential Property Price Index. [38534/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department collates and publishes a wide range of housing and planning statistics that inform the preparation and evaluation of policy, and those data are available on my Department’s website www.environ.ie. The average house price series dates back to the 1970s and is the longest extant Irish house price data series. The series provides a simple average of prices with a breakdown between the main urban areas. Unlike the Central Statistics Office’s Residential Property Price Index the series is not mix-adjusted to take account of the different types of property sold. While there is a minor marginal cost to the Department in producing this series it is considered that, taking into account the historical continuity that it represents, it is worthwhile to maintain the series.
