asked the Minister for Defence the number of living units which are provided for married members of the Defence Forces; if he has satisfied himself with the standards of these dwellings; the plans, if any, he has, for more modern accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

(Limerick West): There are 103 officers' married quarters and 587 soldiers' married quarters in use at present. About 240 of the soldiers' married quarters are very old and many of them are sub-standard, lacking modern ablution and sanitary facilities. As these quarters become vacant, any of them deemed to be sub-standard are not reallocated. I am satisfied that the remaining quarters provide a satisfactory standard of accommodation.

I think I should say that the provision of housing is primarily a matter for the local authorities and married soldiers have an equal claim on such housing with other members of the community in the same category.

Because of the diminishing stock of housing available for married soldiers, can the Minister advise us whether he sees himself as having any function in negotiating with the local authorities the provision of housing for members of the Defence Forces and whether his Department have made any provision to the local authorities to house soldiers near their place of work?

(Limerick West): The answer to that question is no.

Does the Minister intend at any stage to reconsider his position with regard to the local authorities so as to ensure that members of the Defence Forces are given adequate accommodation close to their place of work?

We are having repetition.

All I want to know is whether the Minister in the future intends to do that.

(Limerick West): No. As a matter of fact, the policy of the Department is to phase out the use of married quarters both for officers and for soldiers. If the Deputy has anything specific in mind I should be glad to hear from him and I will certainly look into the matter.

How many of these houses are at present occupied by people who are no longer serving in the Defence Forces?

(Limerick West): I do not have that information but when it becomes available I will let the Deputy have it. I do know that a number of these houses are occupied by people who are no longer serving in the Defence Forces.

Does the Minister agree that having houses occupied by people who are no longer serving in the Army while there are married soldiers inadequately accommodated outside of the barracks creates a sense of unfairness in the Army?

(Limerick West): I agree that does lead to problems but it is not always easy to make these houses available due to the particular domestic circumstances involved. I take the Deputy's point and I will make the information available to him.

Can the Minister tell us whether his Department carry out any periodic surveys of the housing stock in the ownership of the Army and, if they do, can he tell us the date on which the last survey was carried out?

(Limerick West): Regular surveys are carried out. I do not have the date on which the last one was carried out but I understand it was carried out recently.