Cost of housing and healthcare still on the up

The cost of housing, education and health is continuing to rise, despite a slight fall in the overall inflation rate, it emerged today.

The largest increase over the last 12 months was a 9% rise in housing, water, electricity and fuel costs, but there was also a 6.3% rise in education and healthcare costs.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO), which published its consumer price index for March today, said the overall rate of inflation had dropped slightly from 2.2% last March to 2.1% now.

There were also decreases over the last 12 months of 3% in Clothing & Footwear costs, 1.8% in furnishings and household maintenance, and 0.7% in Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages.

Fine Gael Finance spokesman Richard Bruton said the CSO figures showed consumers were being caught on the double from rising living costs and the failure of the Government to index tax bands to inflation.

“Ireland is still the most expensive country in Europe and the new inflation figures show that this position is becoming entrenched. But under the guise of so-called socialism, the Government is refusing to help out consumers who are being caught on the double.”

He said the Government had to index tax bands to inflation, set up a regulator to hold down costs, and stop imposing taxes by stealth.

The CSO takes pricing samples in 86 cities and towns throughout the country on a regular basis. Around 50,000 price quotations are collected from a fixed representative panel of supermarkets, shops, department stores, petrol stations and others.

A further 3,000 price quotations are collected by post on a monthly or quarterly basis from public utilities, transport companies, doctors, dentists and others.