Public sector costs fuelling inflation

IRELAND’S inflation rate of 2.3% would be just 1.6%, but for continued increases in taxes and public sector charges it emerged yesterday.

The cost of living fell by 0.1% in October, pushing the annual inflation rate to a four-year low of 2.3% down from 2.9% a month earlier.

The Consumer Price Index published yesterday by the Central Statistics Office October 2001 show the CPI fell by 0.1%, this compares with an increase of 0.5% in October of last year.