Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The Central Statistics Office, CSO, estimates that approximately 30,000 homes were completed last year. However, independent analysis of the number of homes completed and certified by the National Building Control and Market Surveillance Office shows that less than 24,000 homes were built. Is the Taoiseach aware that, according to the methodology used by the CSO, its calculations on the number of new homes built may only have an 83% level of accuracy? Furthermore, in terms of the crosschecking carried out on its data, the CSO states it has a considerably higher number - 22% more - of false positives compared to false negatives? The CSO states its methodology may have a "bias towards overcounting new dwellings". Given the considerable caveats in the methodology, is there merit in using the hard data from the National Building Control and Market Surveillance Office to count the number of homes completed last year?

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