asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he is in a position to make any statement as to the availability of building materials and requisites to enable the building schemes of the Government and the various local authorities to be continued in the event of the return of emergency conditions, in which the continued import of materials and requisites might be hampered.

The possible effect of emergency conditions on supplies of building materials is being kept under continuous review and the Deputy may rest assured that everything is being done to ensure, as far as possible, that the materials for essential building work will continue to be available.

asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if it is proposed to acquire a centralised pool of building materials and requisites so as to enable building to be continued if international conditions made the continued import of such materials impossible, and further if he will consider recommending to the Industrial Development Authority the setting up of a non-profit making board or company charged with the responsibility of so accumulating materials which would be available to local authorities and private builders.

In my view, the suggestion put forward by the Deputy would not be calculated to achieve what the Deputy has in mind.

A non-profit making company would not be in any better position to acquire stocks of building materials than are the normal providers of such materials.

So we are going to be left to the builders' providers?