asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy if he will give (a) a list of increases in prices granted from 16 June 1974 to latest date; (b) the percentage increase in all cases and (c) the items concerned.
Written Answers. - Price Increases.
445.
I would refer the Deputy to the published monthly reports of the National Prices Commission for the period from June 1974 to January 1978, inclusive, copies of which are in the Dáil Library and were circulated to all Deputies at the time of publication. These reports contain details of all price increases recommended by the commission in this period. The commission's report for the month of February 1978, which contains details of price increases recommended by the commission in that month, will be published tomorrow.
All of the commission's recommendations as detailed in these monthly reports were approved, with the exception of those shown in Table A, which with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to have circulated with the Official Report.
In addition to the price increases referred to in the commission's reports from June 1974 to February 1978, certain price increase recommendations, made in earlier reports of the commission, were approved subsequent to the beginning of June 1974. These price increases are shown in Table B, which, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to have circulated with the Official Report.
The price increases recommended by the commission and approved during the month of March 1978 are shown in Table C, which, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to have circulated with the Official Report.
With regard to part (b) of the Deputy's question, requesting the percentage increase in all cases, I consider that the expenditure of time and staff resources involved in the computation of the percentage increase for all the cases would not be warranted. Following are Tables A, B and C.
Table A
|
National Prices Commission Report |
Firm |
Commodity |
Increase recommended by National Prices Commission |
Increase Approved |
|
June, 1977 (No. 63) |
Roadstone Ltd. |
Building Materials |
1.69% |
None |
|
Clondalkin Concrete Ltd. |
Building Materials |
0.93% |
None |
|
|
John A. Wood Ltd. |
Building Materials |
3.76% |
None |
|
|
Readymix Ltd. |
Building Materials |
0.91% |
None |
|
|
July, 1977 (No. 64) |
J. Lyons & Co. (Irl) Ltd. |
Tea |
24p per 1b. average at retail level |
22p per 1b. average at retail level |
|
July, 1977 (No. 64) |
The Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland |
Fee scale |
5% |
Recommendation under consideration |
|
August/September, 1977 (No. 65) |
Calor Gas Ireland Ltd. |
Dealers margins on sales of bottled gas cylinders |
Increase of 2p on the 11.343kg cylinder with pro rata increases on other bottled gas cylinders |
Increase of 1p on the 11.343kg cylinder with pro rata increases on other bottled gas cylinders |
|
October, 1977 (No.66) |
Incorporated Law Society of Ireland |
Fees under Solicitors' remuneration General Orders 1884-1972—Clauses 2-20 (incl.) of Schedule 2 |
50% |
40% |
|
December, 1977 (No. 68) |
Irish Flour Millers Association |
Bulk FlourBakers Flour |
£per tonne£21.99 |
£per tonne£19.68 |
|
Shop Flour |
£18.85 |
£16.54 |
||
|
Bakers Wheatenmeal |
£11.76 |
£11.60 |
||
|
Shop Wheatenmeal |
£10.44 |
£10.28 |
||
|
Retail Packs Flour |
||||
|
4 × 4kg |
£22.84 |
£20 |
||
|
8 × 2kg |
£22.56 |
£20 |
||
|
16 × 1kg |
£21.52 |
£20 |
||
|
Wheatenmeal |
||||
|
8 × 2kg |
£14.08 |
£13.92 |
Table B.
|
Firm |
Product/Service Involved |
Increase Approved |
|
CSET |
Sugar |
£12.30 per ton |
|
Irish Flour Millers Association |
Plain White Flour |
£11.66 per tonne |
|
Wheatenmeal |
£14.20 per tonne |
|
|
Glaxo Laboratories (Irl.) Ltd. |
Ostermilk Babyfoods Numbers 1 and 2 |
6p per 1b. |
|
Unigate Foods |
Cow & Gate Babymilk 2 |
2½ per 1b |
|
Liga (Irl.) Ltd. |
Liga Red Babyfood |
1p per 156 gm pkt. |
|
Batchelors Ltd. |
Tinned Peas and Beans |
12.25% average |
|
Albright & Wilson (I) Ltd |
“Banquet” margarine |
½p per ½ 1b parchment wrapped |
|
2p per ½ 1b foil wrapped |
||
|
Bord na Móna |
Turf Briquettes |
1½p per bale |
|
Flake Oatmeal Millers Association. |
Flakemeal |
£39.50 per tonne |
|
ESB |
Electricity charges |
16% |
|
CIE |
Dublin City Bus, Dublin Surburban Rail, Provincial City and town, Rail and Road Passenger Services |
20% |
|
Freight and Other Activities |
15%-20% |
|
|
Irish Bakery and Confectionery Trades Association. |
Bread, Wrapped and Unwrapped. |
½p per 400 gm loaf1p per 800 gm loaf |
|
3p per 1,600 gm loaf |
Table C.
|
Name of Firm |
Product/Service Involved |
Increase Approved |
|
Calor Gas Ireland Ltd., Dublin |
Service Charges: |
|
|
(i) Domestic service charges |
(i) 17.39% (i.e. £1 per hour) |
|
|
(ii) Industrial service charges |
(ii) 15.38% (i.e. £1 per hour) |
|
|
Electrolux (Santry) Ltd., |
Service Charges |
23% average |
|
Veha Ltd., Wicklow |
Veha Panel Radiators |
7% |
|
Donegal Coal Importers Association. |
English Coal |
Recommended Price:£51.05 per ton (retail) |
|
Tobacco and Cigarette Manufacturers: |
||
|
(i) P.J. Carroll & Co. Ltd. |
||
|
(ii) Player & Wills (Ireland) Ltd. |
||
|
(iii) Gallaher (Dublin) Ltd. |
(i), (ii) & (iii), Cigarettes (Plain and tipped) |
65.3p per 1,000 (exclusive of ad valorem excise duty and VAT) i.e. 2p per 20 (inclusive of ad valorem excise duty and VAT) at retail level. |
|
(i), (ii) & (iii), Tobacco |
38p per 1b (exclusive of VAT) i.e. 3p per ounce (inclusive of VAT) at retail level. |
|
|
(i) & (ii), Snuffs |
38p per 1b (exclusive of VAT) i.e. 3p per ounce (inclusive of VAT) at retail level. |
|
|
Cadbury Ireland Ltd., Dublin |
“Nunch” chocolate bars |
20% |
|
Harp Lager Brewery (Ireland) Ltd., Dundalk. |
Cans of Harp Lager (16 oz) |
20p (5.8%) per doz. cans |
|
Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance Ltd., Dublin |
Motor Insurance Rates |
20% |
|
GWI Ltd. |
Joinery products |
10% |
|
Association of Dublin Stevedores. |
Basic tariff rates including surcharge |
7.94% average |
|
Scafform Ltd., Dublin |
(i) Charges for hire of scaffolding |
(i) 18.5% average |
|
(ii) Charges for sales of scaffolding |
(ii) Increase in cash margins of 9.5% average. |
|
|
National Cash Register Ltd. |
Service charges for equipment not under a maintenance contract. |
Amounts ranging between 7.8% and 66.7% |
|
Cara Data Processing Ltd., Dublin. |
(i) General processing and Hardware maintenance |
10.4% average |
|
AFA—Minerva Ltd., Dublin |
Existing rental and maintenance contract charges |
12½% |
|
ITT World Directories (Ireland) Ltd., Dublin. |
Advertising rates for the 1979 editions of the “Golden Pages” classified telephone directory |
7% average |
|
Welcome (Ireland) Ltd. |
Part of the range of manufactured veterinary products |
10.3% average |
|
Armitage Shanks (Ireland) Ltd., Arklow. |
Sanitary Ware |
15% |
|
Batchelors Ltd., Dublin |
“Squeez” range of canned fruit juices |
(i) Retail size—30p per doz. cans (i.e. 10%) |
|
(ii) Catering size—£1.20 per doz. cans (i.e. 15.8%) |
||
|
Boart Hardmetals (Europe) Ltd., Dublin. |
Drill bits, rods, couplings, shanks, etc. |
10% |
|
Coca-Cola Bottling Co. (Dublin) Ltd. |
Coca-cola, Fanta, 7-up, Ranger and Kinley soft drinks |
Amounts ranging between 7.6% and 10.7% |
|
Fismar Ltd., Waterford |
Uhu glu, Badedas and Midas foam bath |
Amounts ranging between 0.22% and 22.61% |
|
Gypsum Industries Ltd., Dublin. |
All products |
6.88% |
|
Irish Dunlop Co. Ltd., |
Replacement car tyres |
7½% |
|
Replacement other tyres |
5% |
|
|
Tegral Pipes Ltd. |
Pipes & Joints |
5.2% |
|
Robert Wilson & Sons (Ireland) Ltd., Dublin. |
Tallow No. 6Meat and Bonemeal |
£5 per tonne£3 per tonne |
|
Smith Food Group (I) Ltd., Dublin. |
Chipsticks |
1p per pkt. (retail) |