asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism (i) the name of the body responsible for the development of housing policy in the Shannon new town area, County Clare, (ii) the number of houses that have been completed to date and (iii) the number of houses under construction and the number of houses planned for the next five years by the public and private sectors.

11.

asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism which local authority are responsible for the provision of housing in the Shannon new town area, County Clare; the moneys which have been made available to ensure that a continued supply of rented housing will be made available in this area, as at present there are over 100 applications for houses and 50 applications for flats from people working in the industrial estate at the airport and town; and if he is aware that the growth of the town is being retarded as a result of the limitation of applications, from these categories of people, being operated by the Shannon Development Company.

: With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 11 together.

Clare County Council together with the Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited are responsible for housing development at Shannon new town, County Clare.

Of the 1,867 houses at Shannon on 1 October 1980, 1,468 were provided by SFADCo, 20 by Clare County Council and the balance by private interests. SFADCo have also provided 212 flats. At present Clare County Council and private developers have 20 and 40 houses respectively under construction.

SFADCo have allocated an eleven-and-a-half acre site to Clare County Council for house building. It is understood from the county council that the National Building Agency will build 38 houses on behalf of the county council on this site and it is expected that these houses will be completed in 1982. SFADCo have sold almost 200 sites for house building in the Shannon town area to private developers. In addition, SFADCo have also developed a further 217 sites which are to be sold.

I am not aware that the growth of Shannon is being retarded because of the lack of housing or flat accommodation. In fact the population of the town has increased by more than 1,000 during the past three years.

: Have I heard the Minister correctly in that SFADCo are still the primary housing agency in the Shannon new town area?

: I said that Clare County Council together with SFADCo are responsible for housing development in the area.

: It is the word "together" that concerns me. Are Clare County Council together with SFADCo or are SFADCo together with Clare County Council?

: I do not know how the Deputy distinguishes between degrees of togetherness. If A is together with B and B is together with A, I would imagine that in total it amounts to the same.

: Which agency is the primary one in terms of building?

: In the past most of the building was done by SFADCo but now it is being done by Clare County Council and by private development.

: May I assume then, that the policy, vis-á-vis the provision directly of housing has changed and that SFADCo are ceding to Clare County Council the primary responsibility in this area?

: I do not know whether the Deputy could draw that conclusion but the general proposal in regard to Shannon is that it will achieve first town commissioner status and, subsequently, urban district council status. Therefore, it will come increasingly under the jurisdiction of the responsibility of the county council as developments take place in the coming years.