asked the Minister for the Environment if Dublin Corporation intends to increase rents in corporation houses; if so, by how much; and if he approves of such a decision.

The new national rents scheme for local authority houses and flats, which was approved by the Government and came into effect on 1 February 1978, applies to Dublin Corporation in common with all other local housing authorities. Under the scheme, which has been accepted as fair and reasonable by the National Association of Tenants' Organisations, there will be some increases in maximum differential rents and in the fixed rents of older dwellings, but there will also be reductions in the differential rents payable by tenants in the lower income groups, especially those in receipt of social welfare payments and with dependent children. All tenants will benefit also from the elimination, as from 1 January 1978, of their liability for rates, which hitherto were collected through an appropriate increase in their weekly or monthly rents. The assessment of rent on individual tenants is a matter for the local housing authority and I have no information about the probable overall effect of the new rents scheme on tenants of Dublin Corporation.

Could the Minister say what percentage increase is involved in the fixed rent situation?

That is a separate question which the Minister may or may not answer.

The maximum rent increase was 50 pence. I will let the Deputy have the information.

Would the Minister accept that it is about 35 per cent?

Fixed rents will be increased by 25p a week, except in cases where rents have been increased by at least this amount since 1 February 1975.

The percentage increase is what I am interested in.

It is 25p a week.

(Cavan-Monaghan): Will not the effect of this be to erode the effect of the abolition of rates on local authority houses? Does the Minister not consider that this is a very bad example to the private sector? Does the Minister not agree that he is increasing rents and that he is not passing on the effects of the abolition of rates to local authority tenants? Is it not likely that the private sector will follow his example?

The abolition of rates is being passed on.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul.

I am calling the next question. We cannot have argument.

(Cavan-Monaghan): I have asked a straight question. Does the Minister not agree that following the abolition of rates he is increasing the rents?

That is not the case. As I said earlier, some rents will be decreased.

Very few.

Quite a few. The tenants' organisations accepted this scheme very readily.

I am calling the next question.

(Cavan-Monaghan): The Minister is doing the very thing which he says the private sector should not do. This whole thing is a fraud.