asked the Taoiseach the approximate number of minutes a man with a wife and two children on average manual wages would have to work to pay for each of the following items on (a) 1 June 1977 and (b) 1 June 1982; weekly rent of a three-bedroom local authority house; weekly mortgage payments (interest and principal) in the first year after buying a house at the average price for a secondhand house assuming 72 per cent of the price advanced (net of tax relief): 3lbs of beef sirloin (without bone); 2 lbs of fresh cod fillets; 14 lbs potatoes; large unsliced loaf; half pound of tea; one quart of fresh milk; an ordinary return rail ticket between Dublin and Galway; five cwts of good quality coal; five gallons of petrol; postage on five letters; one telegram of 12 words; 20 cigarettes; one pint of beer, one glass of whiskey and one litre of red diesel.
Written Answers. - Cost of Living Statistics.
Estimates of the kind requested by the Deputy are given in the following table. They are based on earnings data for June and on price data for May of each year; these are the dates closest to those specified in the question for which relevant information is available. In deriving the estimates the earnings data used are for average earnings of male industrial workers in transportable goods industries, reduced by the appropriate social insurance contributions and by the income tax payable by a married man with two young children, related to the corresponding average hours worked.
Approximate number of minutes which a man with a wife and two young children, on average earnings of male industrial workers (net of direct tax and PRSI payments) would have to pay for each of the following items:
|
Items |
1977*May/June |
1982*May/June |
|
Minutes |
Minutes |
|
|
Weekly rent of a 3-bedroom local authority house (Dublin) |
310 |
296 |
|
Weekly mortgage payments (interest and principal) in the first year after buying a house at the average price for second hand houses (Dublin) assuming 72% of price advanced by building society (net of tax relief) |
760 |
1,446 |
|
3 lbs of beef sirloin (roast) |
152 |
148 |
|
2 lbs of fresh cod (cutlets) |
63 |
52 |
|
14 lbs of potatoes |
55 |
53 |
|
Large (800g) loaf of bread (unsliced) |
9 |
9 |
|
Half a pound of tea |
15 |
12 |
|
1 Quart of fresh milk |
7 |
7 |
|
Ordinary return rail ticket between Dublin and Galway |
658 |
655 |
|
(valid 3 months) |
||
|
5 Cwts. of coal |
553 |
608 |
|
5 Gallons of petrol (top grade) |
220 |
254 |
|
Postage on five letters (within Ireland and to Great Britain) |
23 |
28 |
|
One telegram of twelve words (within State) |
40 |
47 |
|
20 Cigarettes (untipped) |
23 |
25 |
|
1 pint of stout (draught) |
17 |
21 |
|
1 Glass of whiskey |
32 |
38 |
|
1 Litre of red diesel |
4 |
5 |
* Figures derived from May prices and June earnings.