asked the Taoiseach if he will state (i) the percentage increase in price of the 2 lb. loaf sold in grocers' shops in Dublin between 1932 and 1939, 1939 and 1944, 1944 and 1951 and 1951 and 1959, and (ii) the net increase in the price of the batch loaf between 1932 and 1959.
Written Answers. - Price of Bread.
77.
The only retail prices available to the Central Statistics Office are those ascertained for the calculation of the Consumer Price Index numbers and these relate to a 2 lb. loaf, of a quality in substantial demand in the areas reported. Prior to the introduction of the Interim Cost of Living Index in August 1947, separate averages were not calculated for the Dublin area, the returns from which were included with those from the other County Boroughs in the computation of the national average price. It is not possible, therefore, to give the percentage change in the price of the 2 lb. loaf in Dublin for periods before that date. The percentage increase in the price of a 2 lb. loaf in Dublin City and Dún Laoghaire Borough between August 1951 and August 1959 was 123.5. The following statement shows the percentage change in the national average price between the periods specified, the actual increase in the national average price between August 1932 and August 1959 being 10.10 pence:
|
Period |
Percentage Change |
|
Between August 1932 and August 1939 |
+18.8 |
|
Between August 1939 and August 1944 |
+30.1 |
|
Between August 1944 and August 1951 |
–1.4 |
|
Between August 1951 and August 1959 |
+119.5 |
It will, of course, be appreciated that the downward movement in prices between August 1944 and August, 1951, and the upward movement between August 1951 and August, 1959, were affected by the introduction and withdrawal of the bread and flour subsidies.