THE RATE OF inflation in Ireland jumped this month due to the surge in energy prices amid the conflict in the Middle East, according to the Central Statistics Office. 

The flash estimates from the latest EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) show prices rose by 3.6% when compared with the same month last year.

This is up from a rate of 2.5% in February.

The increase was driven by energy prices, which climbed by 11.1% in March and were up by 12.3% over the year.

“These increases in energy prices may have been influenced by recent events in the Middle East,” said Anthony Dawson, statistician in the prices division of the CSO.

The prices were collected in mid-March, before the government introduced its €250m package of emergency measures which included cutting excise duty on petrol and diesel.

Food prices are estimated to have fallen by 0.3% in the last month, but they went up 2.3% in the last 12 months.

Service prices have risen by 0.9% in the month and are up by 3.3% in the year to March. 

Excluding energy and unprocessed food, the HICP is estimated to have grown by 2.6% since March 2025.

The HICP is an index of consumer prices that has been harmonised to allow comparisons across Eurozone countries and is designed to assess price stability.

Eurostat will publish the March flash estimates of inflation from the EU HICP for the Eurozone tomorrow. 

The March Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is the official measure of inflation for Ireland, will be published by the CSO on 9 April.

Government measures ‘not enough’

Reacting to the figures today, Sinn Féin energy spokesperson Pa Daly said the situation is “spinning out of control”. 

“The meagre measures the government have introduced so far have been totally inadequate,” he said. 

“Government must act now by  reducing diesel and petrol by the maximum amount, scrapping the carbon tax increase, reintroducing energy credits and removing excise duty entirely from home heating oil to deliver real, immediate relief.”

Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman said it is “increasingly clear that the Government will need to take further measures”.

“I believe it needs to put in place a targeting mechanism, so energy credits can be re-established, but ensuring that it is families in the squeezed middle who see the benefit,” he said.

O’Gorman called for a €200 energy credit to be extended to households with a net income of less than €85,000.

Social Democrats finance spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan echoed this, stating that while the government’s move to cut excise duty was welcome, “this is simply not enough to provide the help that is needed to those who are struggling with energy bills”.

O’Callaghan said his party has ”consistently called for a targeted €400 energy credit for the 800,000 households most under pressure”.