asked the Minister for Labour the estimated number of man-days lost due to industrial disputes, official and unofficial, in each of the quarters ended 31 March 1983; 30 June 1983; and 30 September 1983.

The Central Statistics Office is the official source of statistics relating to industrial disputes but up-to-date figures are not yet available from that office for the periods referred to in the Deputy's question. The Department of Labour estimates, however, that the number of man-days lost for the quarters ending March 1983, June 1983 and September 1983, is as follows:

Does the Minister not consider the growing pattern during the three quarters a matter of concern?

Any loss of man-days is a matter of concern. On the other hand, the fact that the period in question shows such an improvement overall on recent years is a matter for some satisfaction. The Deputy might be interested in the comparable figures for the previous years. The total for the quarters ending March, June and September of 1982, for example, was 341,000 and the total for the quarters ending March, June and September of 1981 were 322,000. Therefore, while there are no grounds for complacency, the trend would seem to be in the right direction.

There are so few people working that the figures would have to drop.

18.