Real drivers of inflation offer food for thought

ANECDOTAL evidence is suggesting that the Christmas season is turning out to be a bumper one, with the animal spirits of the consumer abundantly apparent.

Not alone are the Irish spending at home, they are also flocking to Paris, Dubai, New York and London to splash their money about.

For years the Irish might have been reluctant consumers, due to a fundamental lack of resources, but they have grasped the nettle of consumerism with wild abandon in recent years.