Our first task was, therefore, to collect returns of the retail prices in June, 1922, of all the commodities selected, and of the corresponding prices in July, 1914, and March, 1922, where these were not already at our disposal.
Forms were accordingly drawn up on which this information could be collected and specimens of these forms are shown in the Appendix to the Report.
(1) Food, Clothing, Fuel and Light, and Sundries.
These forms for food, clothing, fuel and light and sundries, were sent out for completion through the channels used by the Ministry for Economic Affairs in its inquiry (viz.:—officials of the Post Office, of the Ministry of Labour, and of the Local Government Board, and in the Six-County area through other sources), and to the same towns as in that inquiry (viz.:—towns with populations of 500 and over). In the case of the larger towns more than one report was asked for, graduating from two returns to twenty returns according to their population as shown in the Census of 1911.
The following table summarises essential particulars regarding the forms:—
| Form. | Number of Forms dealt with. | Number of Towns from which received. | Returns collected by | |
| Prices (Food) | A | 450 | 250 | Post Office, Ministry of Labour, and Local Government Board Officials. |
| Prices (Food, Fuel and Light and Sundries) | B 2 | 436 | 220 | Ditto |
| Prices (Meat) | B 3 | 434 | 227 | Ditto |
| Prices (Clothing) | B 4 | 436 | 216 | Ditto |
| Rents | B 5 | 91 | 71 | Rate Collectors and Town Clerks. |
(2) Rents.—The forms for rents were issued through the Local Government Board, and in the Six-County area through other sources, and filled in for the most part by Rate Collectors in the several districts and towns in Ireland. They were asked to state the rents in July, 1914, and in March, and June, 1922, of about 20 houses in their districts showing the number of rooms and the Poor Law Valuation, the latter figures enabling us to ensure that the same classes of houses of wage earners were being compared. Enquiry was also made in connection with the rents of tenements, and due allowance was made for this in the final figures. The rent figures include rates in every case.
(3) Compilation of prices for individual commodities.—The next step was to calculate from these returns the average retail prices of the individual commodities selected, and this was done as follows:—
One set of average retail prices was compiled from the returns of the Post Office officials, and another from those of the other officials, and a division of the forms was made on this basis.
The retail prices of food, etc. (on Forms A, B2 and B3), and of clothing (Form B4) were then separately summarised in the two groups, viz.—those received from the Post Office officials and those received from the officials of the other Departments for July, 1914, and March and June, 1922.