asked the Taoiseach if he will state (a) the index of industrial earnings and agricultural wages, to base 1938=100, for 1955, the last quarter of 1955 and the first quarter of 1956, and (b) the cost-of-living index figure for the same periods or to the nearest date available.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Industrial Earnings and Agricultural Wages.
(a) To base October, 1938=100 the index of earnings per week in industries producing transportable goods averaged 266.4 for the four quarters of 1955, being 282.8 for the fourth quarter. The corresponding information for the first quarter of 1956 is not yet available.
To base July, 1938=100 the index of weekly agricultural wages averaged 319.7 for 1955, being 333.1 both for the last quarter of that year and for the first quarter of 1956.
(b) Taking as 100 the August, 1938, index in the series of cost-of-living index numbers to base July 1914=100 and linking this series at August 1947 to the consumer price index number series, the average of the four quarterly indices for 1955 was 236. The corresponding figure for mid-November 1955 was 242 and for mid-February 1956 was 243.