Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 143: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the purchasing power as at 1 November 2007 of the Irish Punt at November 1997 prices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30148/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Inflation as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) is the appropriate measure of inflation as it excludes the effects of interest rate changes. Including mortgage interest rate adjustments in the measure of inflation distorts the underlying inflationary trend. Using the HICP, the purchasing power of the Irish Punt declined by 38% between November 1997 and October 2007. Thus £1 in November 1997 would now be worth just over 72p, which is equivalent to 92 cent. If the traditional domestic measure of inflation — the Consumer Price Index — was used, then the purchasing power of the Irish Punt declined by 42.8% over the period. This would mean that £1 in November 1997 would be worth approximately 70p today. This 70p is equivalent to almost 89 cent. The euro replaced the Punt on January 1st 2002. The Punt was converted to euro at a rate of £1 = €1.269738.