THE RATE OF inflation is the highest it’s been since December 2023, according to the latest figures available from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). 

Consumer prices rose by an average of 4.3% between October 2025 and 2026 – the highest rate of inflation since December 2023 when it stood at 4.6%.

Higher energy prices drove the increase in inflation.

CSO statistician Anthony Dawson said higher prices for home heating oil, electricity and gas, as well as increased costs for rents and mortgage interest repayments, caused the 10.7% increase in costs relating to housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.

Meanwhile, transport costs increased by 9%, which Dawson said is down to elevated petrol and diesel prices, as well as higher prices for airfares.

Sinn Féin finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said that the figures show that the government “completely short-changed workers and families”. 

He called on the government to take action to support households, including reintroducing energy credits, banning rent increases and removing USC on the first €40,000 earned. 

However, Rossa White, chief economist at EY Ireland, said he expects inflation impacted by energy costs to slow.

“Inflation for goods should ease over the next months – barring another geopolitical shock, given the recent trend in energy prices,” White said. 

He also warned that today’s proposed public sector pay deal, which provides for increases of 10.75% from 1 July 2026 to 31 March 2029 for over 420,000 public servants, may be above inflation rates next year. 

“Today’s public sector pay deal is most relevant for the impact of service prices on overall inflation,” he said.

“The annualised increase in pay out to the end of March 2029 works out at 3.8%. That is above average inflation over the last decade of 2.4%, or the Euro Area target of 2%. We also expect inflation to trend a bit lower over the next year to average 3% in 2027.”

“Services price inflation has been high for over five years. The risk is that pay deals above inflation risk keeping it there – like the mid-2000s.”