andMr. Keaveney asked the Taoiseach the approximate total number of registered unemployed persons who would be suitable for work in the construction and related industries.

The type of information requested by the Deputies is not available. However the total number of persons on the live register in the building, contracting and works of construction industries on 12th November, 1976, was 24,272.

If it was possible to give that figure, why was it not possible to give the figure the way I wanted it? I am puzzled about this.

The Central Statistics Office take great care to stick as closely as they can to the sense of the Deputy's question. They will not depart from it if they can avoid it. The Deputy did not ask how many belonging to those industries were registered. He asked how many were unemployed who would be suitable for work in the construction and related industries. He introduced the notion of suitability which is a different category. I agree this might be called a quibble in ordinary speech.

Since this is a question of sticking rigidly to the sense of the words in my question, is there any way more specific information could be got and the Parliamentary Secretary obviously knows what I am looking for?

I imagine the figure the Deputy wants is within a very short distance of the figure I have given. By asking about people who would be suitable, he is asking me to assess how many people among those 24,000 are unemployable for reasons which would not appear in the employment office. I could not tell him that.

I used the word "suitable" because that is one of the two terms, "available" and "suitable", in the Acts to qualify for unemployment, whether assistance or benefit.

I must confess I did not know that. I must assume that the reason the figure given was not the figure the Deputy asked for is because he used the expression "in the construction and related industries" and the Central Statistics Office, in giving the figure in the building, contracting and works of construction industries, are doing the best they can.

If I were to contact the office of the Parliamentary Secretary I might be able to make clear what I want.

If the figure can be got I will get it for him.