Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 124: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the basis for his statement on 6 October 2006 that house building will continue to perform strongly for the foreseeable future; the number of house and apartment completions to date in 2006; his estimates for the completions in 2006 and 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36493/06]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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There were 66,470 dwellings completed in the first 9 months of 2006, of which 14,200 were apartments. This represented an increase in completions of 22% on the same period last year. Estimates prepared for this Department by DKM Economic Consultants, suggest that housing output will be about 90,000 units in both 2006 and 2007. Their estimate is for an easing of housing supply to 75,000 in 2008, which is still a considerable output by any standards.

House building should continue to perform strongly for the foreseeable future in light of the positive trends in some of the leading indicators, with new house registrations up 14% in the first 9 months, and construction sector employment continuing to grow strongly, by some 8% in the past year. In addition under Towards 2016, the Government have made considerable commitments to significant additional investment to increase the output of social and affordable housing.