Driven by the soaring cost of repaying mortgage interest, housing, water, electricity, and fuel costs have seen the largest increase in the past year.
In September, the inflation rate of the Irish economy rose to 6.4%, marking two consecutive years of monthly reports recording an annual inflation rate of at least 5%.
The latest data from the Irish Central Bureau of Statistics shows that from September 2022 to September 2023, the consumer price index increased by 6.4%, higher than the annual growth rate of 6.3% in the 12 months to August.
In the year ending in September, housing, water, electricity, and fuel prices rose the most, reaching 16.9%.
This is mainly due to the increase in the cost of mortgage interest repayment. In the 12 months ended September 2023, the cost of mortgage interest repayment increased by 49.5%, as well as the increase in rent, electricity, natural gas, and solid fuel costs.
The Central Bureau of Statistics pointed out that if mortgage interest is excluded from the consumer price index, the inflation rate has increased by 5.2% in the year ending September 2023. This number is still slightly higher than the Irish inflation forecast released at the end of last month.
According to the EU Consumer Price Coordination Index, which does not include mortgage interest, preliminary data released on September 28th estimated that Ireland's inflation rate increased by 5% in the year to September.
The Consumer Price Index shows that in the year ended September, the cost of entertainment and culture also saw a significant increase of 9.4%, mainly due to holiday packages, participation in entertainment and sports services, and an increase in pet product prices.
Compared to September 2022, education is the only industry that has experienced a decline, with costs decreasing by 6.3%, mainly due to a decrease in higher education costs.
During the period from August to September 2023, consumer prices increased by 0.1%, lower than the monthly increase of 0.7% from July to August this year.
The largest monthly price increase in September was in clothing and footwear, with the cost of these products increasing by 3.3% due to sales recovery.
In the month ending September, housing, electricity, and fuel costs increased by 1%, mainly due to the increase in liquid fuel (household heating oil), rent, and mortgage interest repayment costs.
At the same time, due to the decrease in vacation package prices, entertainment and cultural costs decreased by 3% between August and September, while transportation costs decreased by 1% due to the decrease in airfare prices.
National average prices for September 2023
In the past year, the average price of 800 grams of white sliced bread has increased by 3 euros, from 1.62 euros to 1.65 euros.
The price of 500 grams of spaghetti has increased by 12 euros, from 1.33 euros to 1.45 euros.
The average price of 2.5 kilograms of potatoes increased by 28 euros, from 3.39 euros to 3.67 euros.
The price of two liters of whole milk has increased by 9 euros this year, from 2.10 euros to 2.19 euros.
The kilogram price of Irish cheese has increased by 58 euros, from 9.99 euros to 10.57 euros.
A pound of butter is 9 euros more expensive than a year ago, rising from 3.65 euros to 3.74 euros.
The average price of a pint of black beer has increased by 48 euros, from 5.14 euros to 5.62 euros
The price of a pint of beer has increased by 50 euros, from 5.55 euros to 6.05 euros.