Cost of living grew 6.3% in 2023 as Ireland's inflation went up in December

Meanwhile, the CSO said that next month it will update the basket of goods that its Consumer Price Index is based on, measuring inflation in Ireland. File picture

Ireland’s annual inflation rate rose again last month with the average figure across all of 2023 showing a rise in the cost of living of 6.3%.

The full year figures from the Central Statistics Office show that 2023 was another year where the costs facing households surged, with the 6.3% annual average rate of inflation contrasting with the 7.8% rate in 2022. In 2021, this was just 2.4%.

On Monday, the Society of St Vincent de Paul warned that the cost-of-living crisis was “far from over” for many families, and these latest CSO figures lay bare just how much more Irish households are paying now compared to before the pandemic.

Between 2019 and 2023, the cost of energy rose 58.3%, mortgage interest has surged by 60.3% while food has risen 15.4% and transport is up 18.7%. Even during 2023, when energy companies began to drop their prices, the statistics show that energy products rose 5.1% across the year.

In the year to December, the CSO’s Consumer Price Index showed the annual rate of inflation at 4.6%. This was a rise from the 3.9% recorded in November and is the second-straight month since September with the inflation rate below 5%.

Consumer prices rose by 4.6% over the 12 months to December 2023https://t.co/1VEp1uquyc#CSOIreland #Ireland #CPI #ConsumerPrices #Inflation #Deflation #Prices #BusinessStatistics #Business #BusinessNews #IrishBusiness pic.twitter.com/VaxvNtzEQN

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) January 16, 2024

The most significant rises were found in mortgage interest, which rose 36.7% when comparing December 2022 and December 2023, and package holidays which rose 46.4%.

The cost of eating out is also up 6.6% while staying in accommodation services like hotels rose 6.8%. Health insurance is also on the rise, up 10.5%, with home insurance up 9.1%.

Some of the basic food staples have also risen sharply in the last 12 months with rice 11.4% costlier, potatoes costing 13% more, sugar up 24.2%, frozen fish 18% higher and olive oil 17% pricier.

Overall, the cost of food has risen by 5.2% while non-alcoholic beverages such as tea, coffee, juices and soft drinks are up 9.5%.

CSO statistician Anthony Dawson said: “There were price increases in December 2023 for a 2.5kg Bag of Potatoes (+36c) and Irish Cheddar Cheese per kg (+21c), while there were decreases in the price of a pound of butter (-9c) and two litres of full fat milk (-8c) when compared with December 2022.” 

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The figures also show the change in the price of a pint over the course of 2023. In December 2022, the average national price of a pint of stout was €5.20. Last month, this had risen to €5.64. The average pint of lager, meanwhile, has risen from €5.73 to €6.06.

Despite the recent cuts to energy prices, companies have been urged to drop their prices even further given the drop in wholesale costs.

On Monday, Electric Ireland announced its latest price cut which would take effect in March. Experts predicted that the other major energy companies could follow suit within days. However, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he believed energy companies could do more and do it quicker. 

Meanwhile, the CSO said that next month it will update the basket of goods that its Consumer Price Index is based on, measuring inflation in Ireland. The CSO updates its basket over the years in order to give an accurate representation of things the Irish consumer is spending money on, and phasing out things that are no longer relevant to the index.