asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether he is in a position to arrive at cost-of-living index figures in which the various factors on which the figures are based are so weighed as to bear a real relation to the cost of living conditions actually experienced by agricultural labourers and their families and to provide comparisons for the years 1926, 1929, 1934 and 1936.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Cost of Living Figures.
No particulars are available in my Department from which cost-of-living index figures, based upon the standard of living of agricultural labourers, could be computed.
Are we then in the position that it is impossible to compare the cost of living in respect of agricultural labourers from one year to another, say, from 1926 to 1936?
That is the position at present, that the information on which the cost-of-living index figure for different classes could be computed, is not available.
The implication is that the cost-of-living figure that is published is not necessarily an index of comparison for the agricultural labourer.
Or for any particular class. A report was published some time ago showing the basis upon which that figure is compiled.