House-building cost index figures
Fitzpatrick asks about a sharp January rise in the house-building cost index and presses the Minister on January and February figures; the Minister says he has not seen them, noting a small fall in the previous quarter.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Does the Minister agree that a reply or replies given by the Minister recently showed clearly that the house building cost index has been increasing in the past few months and that in January it increased by almost 100 per cent over the previous month?
Comment on this
I have not seen the January figures. During the previous quarter there was a drop—it was minus 0.2 per cent.
Comment on this
(Cavan-Monaghan): In view of information given to me recently in reply to a parliamentary question, will the Minister deny there was a substantial increase in January and February?