asked the Minister for the Environment the number of applicants in each county who have been paid the £1,000 housing grant.

As the reply is in the form of a tabular statement, I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to circulate it with the Official Report.

Following is the statement:

NUMBER of £1,000 new house grants paid, on a county basis, between 6 July 1977 and 30 April 1978.

Will the Minister give us the total number of house grants?

We are getting into the habit of asking supplementaries.

(Cavan-Monaghan): On a point of order, if a question is answered by a Minister during interruptions and his answer is not audible, it is customary for the Minister to repeat the answer out of courtesy, and I would ask the Minister to be good enough to repeat the answer?

If the Deputy had not been engaged in crossfire with another Deputy——

(Cavan-Monaghan): I was not.

Would the Minister repeat Question No. 18, please?

As the reply is in the form of a tabular statement, I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to circulate it with the Official Report.

Would the Minister be good enough to give us the total figure?

I have the individual figures but not the total.

19.

asked the Minister for the Environment the approximate length of time which elapses after a request for inspection is made before a final inspection for reconstruction grant purposes is carried out.

The time which elapsed in 1977 between a request for a final inspection for reconstruction grant purposes and the actual inspection was approximately four and a half weeks.

20.

(Cavan-Monaghan) asked the Minister for the Environment the time which elapses between an application to his Department for a certificate of reasonable value in respect of grant-aided houses and the issue of the certificate; and if he will take steps to cut out all unnecessary delays.

In the months of January, February and March 1978, the average time between the receipt in my Department of properly documented applications for certificates of reasonable value and the issue of decisions was 21, 17 and 21 days respectively. I am satisfied that, in general, there are no undue delays in dealing with applications.

(Cavan-Monaghan): The Minister has taken the last quarter, but is it not a fact that in the previous quarter the delays were much longer? Does the Minister also agree that there are delays and that there have been complaints from all over the country about present delays?

I have no evidence of complaints about delays. I have given the Deputy the latest figure for the first quarter of this year.

(Cavan-Monaghan): If the Minister has the material in his brief, perhaps he would tell us what the delay was in the previous quarter?

I do not have any material in relation to the previous quarter.

(Cavan-Monaghan): Would I be right in thinking that the delay was much longer?

I do not know.