Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand the approach taken to measuring house completions is the same as that which has been in place for many years and is based on ESB connections. The figure went from a high of 90,000 at one stage to a low of about 8,000, but it has now recovered significantly to 15,000. The Minister's ambition is to push it on. No individual indicator is perfect and the Department does not pretend that it is. Work is being done by the CSO to establish if there are better indicators, but it is a fairly robust sign of the direction in which we are moving. It gives us a sign of the progress we are making. There is a group within the CSO looking at what are the best measures of house completions. It has not been yet developed. The ESB connection measure is one that has considerable historic value and it continues to be a relevant indicator.

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