THE RATE OF inflation in Ireland is at 7.8%, down slightly compared with previous months.

The CSO Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 7.8% between January 2022 and January 2023. 

That’s down from an increase of 8.2% in the 12 months to December 2022, and the 8.9% increase in the 12 months to November 2022.

January is the sixteenth consecutive month where the annual increase in the CPI has been at least 5%.

The divisions with the largest increases in the year to December were in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels category, up 26.4%.

Increased energy costs are reflected in the yearly growth of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, particularly in electricity (+62.7%), gas (+86.3%), liquid fuels (home heating oil) (+35.5%), and solid fuels (+44.8%).

Food and non-alcoholic beverages were up 12.8%. 

Consumer prices fell by 0.8% in the month between December 2022 and January 2023.

The divisions with the largest decreases in the month were clothing and footwear (-6.4%) and transport (-2.9%).

Speaking at the start of the year, Finance Minister Michael McGrath said that he believed Ireland’s rate of inflation had peaked and the rate at which it falls will accelerate as the year goes on.

“We do believe that this downward trajectory with inflation will continue and will actually accelerate, particularly in quarter two and quarter three of this year, so that is good news,” he said.

Last month, the governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, Gabriel Makhlouf, said the sharp increase in the cost of living over the past year has resulted in an “erosion of living standards”.