The earlier stages of the Minister's previous reply referred to the live register time and again. Would the Minister tell the House, apart from the live register, how many people he estimates are out of work at this time? I may say that the Minister behind him would not recognise the difference between the live register and total unemployment.

This is a different question from the one on the Order Paper.

How many are out of work in the country at the moment?

Will the Deputy please address the Chair?

We do not have accurate figures as the Deputy knows and I know due to the failure of the previous Government to take a census. The estimate we produced last June said that in our belief the total number out of work was in the region of 160,000 and this was based on the best independent estimate which was prepared by members of the staff of the Economic and Social Research Institute.

You still have not answered the question. What is your estimate of the number now?

If you table a question——

The Minister should answer that off the top of his head. You were able to produce an estimate when in Opposition, what is your estimate in Government?

Will Deputy Kelly please resume his seat?

Treating us as though we were a class of infants.

I am not going to let you make a circus out of it.

We are having a lot of unnecessary delay because of supplementary questions which are not relevant. There is nothing in the original question which bears any relationship to the question Deputy Kelly is insisting on asking, in spite of the Chair. This cannot be tolerated all of the time. I am calling on Deputy Mitchell.

One of the questions asks for details of the Minister's plan to reduce unemployment in 1978. Surely I am entitled, therefore, to ask how many people are unemployed without being lectured by you or the Minister.

This is inexcusable on the part of a Deputy who is au fait with Standing Orders. This has nothing to do with the question or to the answer given. The Minister need not supply that information.

We have never claimed we would end unemployment this year. We pointed out that it will take many years. It does not matter how many jobs we create this year, all it will do is to reduce unemployment. Therefore it is useless to get into a statistical dogfight about whether it is 150,000——

The Minister himself nine months ago——

I say for the fourth time that if Deputy Kelly does not obey the Chair I will have to ask him to leave the House. Supplementary questions are asked with the permission of the Chair and not by ignoring the Chair. If we are to proceed in an orderly manner there will have to be an end to this. I will not tolerate it.