asked the Taoiseach if he will state the amount in pence by which each of the following items in the CPI has gone up (a) between mid-May 1977 and mid-February 1979; and (b) between mid-August 1977 and mid-February 1979: bread, butter, cornflakes, tea, sugar, potatoes, baked beans, beef, frozen fish, coffee, cheese, beer, cigarettes.
Written Answers. - Consumer Price Index
235.
National average retail prices are available from the consumer price index only for some of the food items listed above. In these cases the amount in pence by which the average national price rose between the dates specified is given below.
Increase in National Average Retail Price
|
Item |
Unit |
Mid-May 1977 to Mid-Feb. 1979 |
Mid-Aug. 1977 to Mid-Feb. 1979 |
|
p |
p |
||
|
Bread:— |
|||
|
White sliced |
800 grm |
+6.7 |
+5.2 |
|
White unsliced |
800 grm |
+6.9 |
+5.4 |
|
Butter |
1lb. |
+15.3 |
+15.2 |
|
Tea:— |
|||
|
Best quality |
¼ lb. |
+9.1 |
+2.6 |
|
Medium quality |
¼ lb. |
+7.2 |
+0.8 |
|
Sugar |
1 Kg. |
+7.2 |
+3.0 |
|
Potatoes |
3½ lb. |
+2.9 |
+17.3 |
|
Beef:— |
|||
|
Round steak |
1 lb. |
+32.9 |
+31.2 |
|
Sirloin steak |
1 lb. |
+39.1 |
+36.2 |
|
Sirloin roast |
1 lb. |
+34.2 |
+32.3 |
|
Rib steak |
1 lb. |
+18.2 |
+18.9 |
|
Brisket, corned beef |
1 lb. |
+17.2 |
+15.8 |
|
Cheese:— |
|||
|
Processed |
½ lb. |
+9.5 |
+9.3 |
|
Natural |
1 lb. |
+22.3 |
+21.8 |
For the other items listed no attempt is made in the consumer price index to obtain price quotations for identical qualities, varieties and sizes in all areas and, therefore, any average prices computed from these data would not be meaningful. The correctness of the relative change required for the index calculations is ensured by the fact that at each source the identical article is priced at successive quarters. The percentage increase in the retail prices of these items between the dates specified is given below.
Percentage Increases in Retail Price
|
Item |
Mid-May 1977 to Mid-Feb. 1979 |
Mid-Aug. 1977 to Mid-Feb. 1979 |
|
% |
% |
|
|
Cornflakes |
+17.9 |
+15.7 |
|
Beans, tinned |
+5.3 |
+2.7 |
|
Coffee |
+11.7 |
-8.4 |
|
Fish, frozen |
+22.7 |
+17.8 |
|
Beer |
+15.5 |
+15.0 |
|
Cigarettes |
+9.6 |
+9.5 |
236.
asked the Taoiseach if he will state (a) the percentage increase in the CPI between mid-May 1977 and Mid-February 1979; and (b) the average percentage increase in the food items in the CPI over the same period; and (c) the percentage increase in the price of bread, butter and milk over the same period.
The percentage increases in the items specified between mid-May, 1977 and mid-February, 1979 are as follows:
|
Increase % |
|
|
(a) Consumer Price Index (all items) |
15.6 |
|
(b) Food items in the Consumer Price Index |
23.3 |
|
(c) Retail prices of:— |
|
|
Bread |
29.9 |
|
Butter |
29.1 |
|
Milk |
43.7 |