: With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 11 together.
Clare County Council together with the Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited are responsible for housing development at Shannon new town, County Clare.
Of the 1,867 houses at Shannon on 1 October 1980, 1,468 were provided by SFADCo, 20 by Clare County Council and the balance by private interests. SFADCo have also provided 212 flats. At present Clare County Council and private developers have 20 and 40 houses respectively under construction.
SFADCo have allocated an eleven-and-a-half acre site to Clare County Council for house building. It is understood from the county council that the National Building Agency will build 38 houses on behalf of the county council on this site and it is expected that these houses will be completed in 1982. SFADCo have sold almost 200 sites for house building in the Shannon town area to private developers. In addition, SFADCo have also developed a further 217 sites which are to be sold.
I am not aware that the growth of Shannon is being retarded because of the lack of housing or flat accommodation. In fact the population of the town has increased by more than 1,000 during the past three years.