asked the Taoiseach (a) the reason for the delay in producing estimates of net passenger movement into or out of the country over the last 12 months; and (b) if he will undertake personally to intervene to expedite the production of these figures.

The passenger balance figures are compiled and published monthly from returns received from the airport authorities and from the shipping operators. Data in respect of movements by sea have been published for months up to October 1978 which is the usual time lag.

The industrial dispute in Aer Lingus in March-May 1978 caused severe disruption of the statistical recording system within the company. In addition some further delay has been caused by separate staff problems at the airports.

The backlog in supply of data is only now being cleared. Complete information for monthly periods later than February 1978 is not yet available. Every effort is being made to expedite the issue of the outstanding figures.

Could I ask the Minister of State if either he or the Taoiseach on behalf of the Central Statistics Office made any direct approach to Aer Lingus with a view to having these figures provided quickly? Has any approach been made?

Not from——

Not from the Minister's Department?

No.

I made personal inquiries.

How long ago?

About a day or two after the Deputy's party Leader made the point here.

Would it be fair enough to assume that there is no anxiety on the Government's part to have these figures produced?

No. That would be incorrect. There are staff problems. This information is collected by the Central Statistics Office from Aer Lingus and Aer Rianta in connection with air traffic movements. As I explained in the reply, there was an industrial dispute in Aer Lingus in March-May last. In addition, there is an ongoing dispute at Aer Rianta level which is interfering with the collection of this data.

Is it not the case that the only guide we have—and no one has ever claimed it is an absolutely accurate guide—as to emigration trends derives from these figures, and the result of the Government's failure to get these figures produced is that we have not got reliable figures—which I am sure is very welcome to them—on emigration since February 1978.

We have not the figures since February at the moment.

That suits the Government.

That is incorrect.

In the absence of a census it is the best we have.

Would the Minister of State agree with the estimate accepted by the Minister for Economic Planning and Development some months ago that the approximate number of people who emigrated over a 12-month period was 14,000?

I would not accept that. I do not know where the Deputy got that figure. The Deputy invents figures daily.

Is the Minister contradicting it?

The Deputy's party said 160,000 were unemployed at a time when the unemployment figure was 100,000.

That figure was accepted by the Minister for Economic Planning and Development.

If the Minister accepted that figure, that is good enough for me.

But he did not accept it.

I do not accept Deputy Cluskey's quotation.

That is hardly good enough for the unfortunate 14,000 people who emigrated.