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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 9 Apr 1981

Vol. 328 No. 8

Written Answers. - Cost of Living.

50.

asked the Minister for Finance the amount a person with an income of (a) £3,000, (a) £5,000 and (c) £7,000 in 1977 should have been earning in March 1981 to enjoy the same standard of living based on the cost of living index; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

52.

asked the Minister for Finance the sum it would have taken in mid-February, 1981 to purchase an equivalent amount of goods costing £100 in mid-February, 1977; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to take Questions Nos. 50 and 52 together.

It is estimated on the basis of the consumer price index that it would have taken £168 at mid-February 1981 to purchase the same quantum of goods and services as £100 would have purchased at mid-February 1977. If the CPI increase between the two dates is applied to the income ranges of (a) £3,000 (b) £5,000 and (c) £7,000 in 1977, the following table gives the adjusted positions:

Adjusted by increases in CPI between mid-February 1977 and mid-February 1981—(a)£5,040; (b)£8,400; (c)£11,760.

In relation to the Deputy's request for a statement, I may draw his attention to the fact that the increase in the consumer price index over the period was 68 per cent. Over the same period, average industrial earnings are estimated to have risen by a substantially greater amount, namely, 81 per cent.

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