Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 5 Apr 1967

Vol. 227 No. 6

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Consumer Price Index.

7.

Mr. Cosgrave

asked the Taoiseach the change in the consumer price index between mid-February, 1966, and mid-February, 1967; and the actual and percentage change of each item included in the consumer price index during the same period.

Mr. Carty

The consumer price index to base August, 1947=100 rose from 181 at mid-February, 1966 to 188 at mid-February, 1967 an increase of 3.9 per cent. With your permission, Sir, I propose to circulate in the Official Report a statement giving (a) the national average retail prices of certain items of food at mid-February, 1966 and mid-February, 1967 and the actual change in each case and (b) the percentage change over the period in the prices of all the items entering into the consumer price index numbers. In the case of items, other than certain food items, no attempt is made to obtain quotations for an identical quality of the different articles in all areas and, therefore, any average prices computed would not be meaningful. The correctness of the relative price changes is ensured by the fact that at each source the identical article is priced at successive inquiries. Price quotations in respect of some items of food are not available from all centres at each enquiry and the figures for the percentage changes in these prices, computed in such a way as to eliminate the effect of differences in coverage, may differ slightly from the percentage calculated from the actual changes.

Following is the statement:

(a) NATIONAL Average Retail Prices of Food items at mid-February, 1966 and mid-February 1967 and the actual change in each case.

Article	Per	Average price to nearest ¼d.	Increase (+) or decrease (-) between mid-February, 1966 and mid-February, 1967
Mid-Feb. 1966	Mid-Feb. 1967
Beef:		s.	d.	s.	d.	d.
Round steak	lb.	5	2 ½	5	1 ¾	–	¾
Sirloin	,,	5	11 ¼	5	10 ¼	–	1
Rib	,,	4	1 ¾	3	11 ¼	–	2 ½
Shoulder	,,	3	7 ¼	3	6	–	1 ¼
Neck	,,	3	3 ½	3	2	–	1 ½
Corned brisket	,,	2	5	2	3 ¾	–	1 ¼
Liver	,,	3	2 ¼	3	1 ½	–	¾
Mutton:
Leg	,,	4	1	4	1 ¾	+	¾
Loin Chops	,,	4	10 ½	5	0 ½	+	2
Neck	,,	2	1 ¾	2	0	–	1 ¾
Shoulder	,,	3	0	2	10	–	2
Fillet	,,	4	5	4	5 ½	+	½
Bacon:
Irish streaky	,,	4	5	4	6 ¼	+	1 ¼
Irish, shoulder	,,	3	0	3	0 ¼	+	¼
Pigs' heads	,,		10		11	+	1
Ham, uncooked	,,	4	10	5	1	+	3
Ham, cooked	,,	8	3 ½	9	1 ¼	+	9 ¾
Rashers, streaky	,,	4	4 ½	4	7 ¼	+	2 ¾
Fresh pork, shoulder	,,	4	1	4	3	+	2
Pork sausages	,,	3	2 ¾	3	3 ¾	+	1
Boiling fowl	,,	2	4 ¼	2	3 ½	–	¾
Kippered herring	doz.	4	7 ½	4	8 ¼	+	¾
Fresh herring	lb.	1	3 ½	1	5 ¾	+	2 ¼
Fish—Whiting	,,	2	5 ¼	2	6 ½	+	1 ¼
Cod steak	,,	3	6 ¾	3	7 ½	+	¾
Eggs	doz.	3	8 ¾	3	7	–	1 ¾
Butter—Irish Creamery	lb.	4	8	4	11	+	3
,, Farmers'	,,	4	0 ¾	4	2 ½	+	1 ¾
Margarine	,,	1	11 ¾	2	0	+	¼
Cheese	,,	3	6 ¼	3	6 ¾	+	½
Lard	,,	1	5 ¼	1	5 ½	+	¼
Fresh milk	quart	1	3	1	3 ¾	+	¾
Bread	2 lb. loaf	1	6 ¼	1	6 ¼	no change
Flour—household	3 ½ lbs.	2	3 ½	2	3 ½	no change
Oatmeal	14 lbs.	9	3 ¾	9	4 ½	+	¾
Rice	lb.	1	0 ¾	1	1 ¼	+	½
Semolina	,,	1	3	1	3 ¾	+	¾
Potatoes	14 lbs.	3	10 ¼	3	5 ½	–	4 ¾
Cabbage	head		7 ¼		7 ½	+	¼
Onions	lb.		10	1	0	+	2
Carrots	,,		9		9	no change
Dried Peas	,,	1	4 ½	1	5	+	½
Cooking Apples	lb.		11 ½	1	1 ½	+	2
Oranges	,,	1	5 ¼	1	6	+	¾
Tomatoes	,,	2	5 ¾	2	8 ¾	+	3
Sultanas	,,	1	10 ¾	1	11	+	¼
Tinned beans in tomato sauce	1 lb. tin	1	2 ¾	1	3 ½	+	¾
Tea—best	lb.	7	10 ¼	7	10	–	¼
as used by wage-earning classes	,,	6	6	6	6 ¼	+	¼
Coffee	,,	6	6 ¾	6	8	+	1 ¼
Cornflour	½ lb. pkt.	1	0 ¾	1	0 ¾	no change
Custard powder	,,	1	1	1	1 ½	+	½
Sugar	lb.		9 ¾		9 ¾	no change
Jam—Strawberry	,,	2	3 ¾	2	4 ½	+	¾
Mixed Fruit	,,	1	9 ¾	1	10 ¾	+	1
Marmalade	,,	2	0 ¼	2	1 ½	+	1 ¼
Jellies	pkt.		10 ¾		10 ½	–	¼

(b) PERCENTAGE change in prices of items entering into the Consumer Price Index between mid-February, 1966 and mid-February, 1967.

Commodity	Percentage increase (+) or decrease (-)
FOOD:
Beef	– 2.56
Mutton	+ 1.57
Bacon and Pigs' heads	+ 3.11
Ham, uncooked	+ 5.17
Ham, cooked	+ 8.42
Rashers, streaky	+ 5.63
Fresh pork, shoulder	+ 4.38
Pork sausages	+ 2.24
Boiling fowl	– 3.73
Kippered herring	+ 1.06
Fresh herring	+ 9.02
Whiting	+ 3.40
Cod Steak	+ 2.26
Tinned salmon	+ 1.84
Eggs, 1st grade, hen	– 3.99
Butter, Irish creamery	+ 5.14
Butter, farmers'	+ 3.15
Margarine	+ 0.38
Cheese	+ 1.19
Lard	+ 0.52
Fresh milk	+ 5.34
Condensed milk	+ 0.81
Bread	+ 0.00
Household flour	– 0.00
Cake	– 0.07
Oatmeal	+ 0.08
Breakfast cereals	– 0.19
Rice	+ 3.71
Semolina	+ 1.96
Potatoes	– 10.08
Cabbage	+ 0.28
Onions	+ 21.34
Carrots	– 1.28
Dried peas	+ 2.29
Cooking apples	+ 16.24
Oranges	+ 3.94
Tomatoes	+ 9.24
Sultanas	+ 1.63
Tinned pears	– 1.19
Tinned beans in tomato sauce	+ 6.00
Tea, best quality	– 0.03
Tea, as used by wage-earning classes	– 0.04
Coffee	+ 0.04
Cocoa	– 0.22
Cornflour	No change
Custard powder	+ 3.30
Sugar—white granulated	– 0.21
Salt, table	+ 1.09
Mustard	– 0.65
Jam—strawberry	+ 2.80
Jam—mixed fruit	+ 4.54
Jam—marmalade	+ 4.31
Sauce	+ 0.72
Boiled sweets	+ 0.99
Bar of chocolate	+ 0.65
Biscuits	+ 1.33
Jellies	– 1.40
Soft drinks	+ 5.89
Other groceries	+ 1.37
DRINK AND TOBACCO:
Beer and ale	+ 6.96
Stout—bottled	+ 9.09
Stout—draught	+ 10.93
Whiskey (Irish)	+ 9.34
Cigarettes	+ 7.66
Tobacco	+ 9.39
CLOTHING:
MEN'S:
Suit—readymade	+ 2.03
Suit—tailormade	+ 1.67
Overcoat—readymade	+ 1.06
Cotton raincoat, rubber-proofed	+ 2.32
Wool gaberdine raincoat	+ 0.82
Sports coat	+ 3.29
Flannel trousers	+ 0.65
Hat	+ 1.39
Overalls	+ 1.58
Pullover (wool, sleeveless)	+ 1.98
Cotton singlet	+ 1.29
Woollen vest (short sleeves)	+ 1.11
Underpants	+ 0.88
Shirt (collar attached)	+ 0.90
Shirt (tunic 2 collars)	+ 1.10
Pyjamas	+ 0.17
Socks	+ 0.59
BOYS' (AGED ABOUT 12 YEARS):
Suit	+ 1.76
Overcoat	+ 2.08
Raincoat	+ 0.71
Woollen jersey (long sleeves)	+ 1.97
Shirt	+ 2.12
Woollen stockings	+ 1.18
WOMEN'S:
Light coat	+ 0.76
Heavy coat	+ 0.81
Costume	+ 1.05
Blouse	+ 1.30
Skirt	+ 2.11
Woollen dress	+ 0.94
Silk or art silk dress	+ 1.43
Cotton dress	+ 1.20
Hat	+ 1.85
Gloves	+ 1.35
Cardigan	+ 1.10
Slip	+ 0.51
Brassiere	+ 1.92
Corset	+ 1.41
Knickers	+ 1.17
Vest	+ 2.06
Nightdress	+ 1.80
Stockings—nylon—fully fashioned	– 8.10
Stocking—lisle	+ 0.37
GIRLS' (aged about 12 YEARS):
Overcoat	+ 1.08
Cotton frock	+ 2.28
Woollen frock	+ 2.00
Stockings	– 1.58
OTHER CLOTHING ITEMS:
Cotton Piece goods	+ 1.12
Woollen piece goods	+ 0.49
Knitting wool	+ 1.44
FOOTWEAR:
Men's Boots	+ 2.88
Men's Shoes (leather sole)	+ 3.75
Boy's boots (for boy of 12)	+ 2.41
Boy's shoes (for boy of 12)	+ 3.20
Wellington boots (for boy of 12)	+ 0.92
Women's shoes	+ 2.69
Girls' shoes (for girl of 12)	+ 2.40
Child's sandals	+ 1.53
Men's rubber boots	+ 0.27
OTHER CLOTHING	+ 1.47
FUEL AND LIGHT:
Candles	+ 2.15
Paraffin	– 0.61
Coal	+ 3.46
Gas	+ 2.91
Turf (other than briquettes)	+ 6.44
Firewood blocks	+ 4.25
Electricity	+ 7.00
DURABLE HOUSEHOLD GOODS:
Wire mattress	+ 5.61
Spring interior mattress	+ 3.20
Fibre mattress	+ 3.75
Kitchen chair	+ 4.22
Kitchen table, white deal	+ 2.61
Three-piece suite, upholstered	+ 1.87
Bedroom suite	+ 2.10
Wireless receiving set	+ 1.99
Carpet	+ 2.34
Linoleum	+ 2.78
Door mat	+ 2.76
Blankets, woollen	+ 2.77
Sheets	+ 2.73
Curtain material	+ 0.60
Hand towel (terry)	+ 5.77
Dishcloth	+ 2.34
Table knives	+ 2.07
Forks	+ 3.17
Cup and saucer, undecorated whiteware	+ 5.64
Tumbler	+ 8.63
Saucepan, aluminium	+ 2.95
Galvanised bucket	+ 1.79
Sweeping brush	+ 2.77
Scrubbing Brush	+ 3.75
Electric iron	+ 2.66
Electric lamp bulb, 60 watt	+ 2.07
Non-electrical appliances	+ 6.86
Motor cars and motor cycles	+ 9.27
OTHER GOODS AND SERVICES:
Soap—household	+ 2.63
Soap—toilet	+ 4.35
Soap—powder	+ 0.77
Scouring powder	+ 2.96
Boot polish	+ 2.75
Floor polish	+ 1.82
Toothpaste	+ 1.09
Toilet paper	+ 1.77
Razor blades	+ 0.68
Face powder	+ 2.50
Lipstick	+ 1.68
Aspirin	+ 0.64
Quinine	+ 4.28
Matches	No change
Writing pad	+ 1.43
Package of envelopes	+ 2.53
Bicycle	+ 4.36
Cycle Tyre	+ 4.44
Papers and magazines	+ 6.83
Petrol and oil	+ 5.04
Admission to cinema	+ 2.31
Admission to football match	+ 6.30
Admission to dance	+ 16.83
Shoe repairs, men's sole and heel, leather	+ 2.40
Men's haircut	+ 5.25
Woman's trim, shampoo and set	+ 2.22
Dry cleaning of men's 3 piece suit	+ 2.11
Dry cleaning of women's costume	+ 2.40
Travel—train	+ 10.00
Travel—bus	+ 13.34
Travel—other travelling	+ 1.74
Post	No change
Phone	No change
Education	+ 8.91
Domestic service	+ 7.71
Hotel expenses	+ 5.30
HOUSING:
Rent and rates of rented dwellings	+ 6.24
Rates of owner occupied dwellings	+ 7.20
Repairs and decorations of all dwellings	+ 3.85