asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce why there has been no apparent increase in the volume of retail sales in recent months.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Retail Sales Volume.
52.
I do not know on what information the Deputy bases his question. The index numbers of retail sales, published monthly, are derived from data relating to the value of retail sales but only in relation to the corresponding month of the previous year or the average for 1968. They reflect the combined effect of changes in volume of sales and changes in retail prices.
Available information suggests that there was some decline in volume in May and June probably due largely to the Dublin bus strike and a decline in August probably due principally to a decline in purchases of new cars.