asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the average cost of living index figure for the last convenient date for the Cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Cost of Living Index Figure.
The official cost of living index figure showing the relative cost of maintaining a working class standard of living compared with July, 1914-100 is based on family budgets relating to June, 1922, the values of the various items of which are altered at quarterly intervals by means of national average retail prices of the different commodities and rents. No separate family budget particulars are available for the towns named. Furthermore, while the returns from which national average prices are derived for the quarterly cost of living inquiries are sufficiently numerous for the compilation of figures which will indicate the trend of retail prices (and rents) in Éire, as a whole, they are too few for the compilation of reasonably accurate figures for individual cities and towns.