asked the Minister for the Environment whether proposals to build local authority housing estates comprising a certain number of houses do not require his sanction; if so, the number involved; and the date from which this exemption applied.

Under developed procedures introduced on 1 September 1973, local authorities may build schemes of up to 60 houses without my prior sanction, subject to agreement on unit cost figures, compliance with general recommendations as regards acquisition of sites, standards and so on; the house plans and site plans being cleared with my Department's inspector for the area and keeping within the available capital allocation.

I understand that local authority housing estates under 60 units do not require the Minister's sanction?

That is right.

Would the Minister explain how his Minister notified everybody in Rush, Co. Dublin that he had sanctioned a housing estate for 41 houses within the last six weeks? The Minister is telling us that his Minister has not the power to sanction schemes of under 60 houses.

No, he gave that power to the local authority. It is the unit cost he approves. I might not have made it clear. Where there is a scheme of 60 houses or less my Department clear the house plans, the site plans, the standards and the unit costs. They have to clear those. I presume what the Deputy is alluding to is that the Minister approved the unit cost. It is a matter for either the corporation or Dublin County Council after that.

In other words, the Minister is saying that it would have been wrong for the Minister to say that he had given a general sanction for any scheme of houses of less than 60 in number?

No, that does not apply at all. The Minister was approving unit costs.

I am not asking if the Minister has the power to approve unit costs. I am asking if it would be wrong for him to say that he had given a general sanction for a scheme of less than 60 houses?

He would have to approve the plans, site plans and so on. In regard to the scheme going ahead then there would be no problem.