asked the Minister for the Environment if, in view of the hardship resultant from his placing of a limit of £2,500 on local authority reconstruction loans, he will arrange to have the limit restored to that of parity with new house loans.

: I am not aware that the imposition of a limit on reconstruction loans has caused undue hardship. However, I will keep the matter under review.

: I would ask the Minister to bear in mind the information available to anybody at local authority level showing that there are instances of natural calamity, such as fires and so on, where the £2,500 is by no means adequate. I would also ask him to bear in mind that there have been many cases in the past where loans in excess of £2,500 had to be made to meet the needs of the people concerned. We are dealing here with people who cannot get money from other sources to do this essential work. There is need to review the position.

: I had no evidence it was causing hardship. The loan plus the £600 comes to a total of £3,100 but, in view of what the Deputy said, I will see if something can be done.