asked the Minister for Finance when measures will be introduced to enable persons finding it difficult to obtain bridging finance for house purchase to obtain such finance.

I have no evidence that prospective house purchasers are experiencing difficulties at present in obtaining bridging finance.

The Minister must not have his ear to the ground because obtaining bridging loans is one of the greatest problems facing house buyers at present and many sales have collapsed as a result. As the Government are allocating additional funds for the purchase of new houses, does the Minister agree that there should be some system whereby people would be covered during the transition period?

It would not be appropriate to cover this in the form of a grant. During 1984 the growth of overall private sector credit did not reach the Central Bank's guidelines and, therefore, there was no evidence of a substantial shortfall of credit availability as against demand.