IBEC too flippant on inflation issue

IBEC, the country’s major employer body, has moved swiftly to banish the notion that the shock rise in the inflation rate was anything but a temporary glitch.

Standing at annual rate of 3.3% at the end of February it was back up at a level not seen since June 2003 and the IBEC rush to dismiss the figure was a touch unseemly, given it is the voice of Irish industry.

After all inflation, when it gets out of hand, can have a corrosive influence. It can create excessive wage demands that in turn push up prices and put further pressure on wages.