Food inflation at highest level in two years, CSO reveals
The CSO said the price of several foods rose last month.
Inflation has risen once again, with grocery prices, insurance hikes and electricity bills all driving the cost of living upwards.
The Central Statistics Office said on Thursday that its consumer price index has risen by 2% in the last 12 months. This was higher than the 1.7% rise in the cost of living in the 12 months to July.
Grocery prices are rising at more than double the rate of inflation as they are up 5.1%. This is the highest level of inflation for food and drink in almost two years, the CSO said.
The price of meat is up over 10%, with even sharper rises for beef and veal (up 22.7%), lamb and goat (up 13.4%) and edible offal (up 14.1%).
Milk is also up over 12% while butter is up 18% and chocolate has risen 16%. In terms of non-alcoholic drinks, the price of coffee has risen 12.1% while fruit and vegetable juices are up 8.9%.
Breaking it down by individual items, CSO statistician Anthony Dawson said: “There were price increases in the 12 months to August 2025 for Irish cheddar per kg (+93c), a pound of butter (+91c), two litres of full fat milk (+28c), an 800g loaf of white sliced pan (+7c), an 800g loaf of brown sliced pan (+4c), and spaghetti per 500g (+1c).”
There was a sharp rise in the price of clothing noted in the latest consumer price index. While clothing in general has risen by just 3.7% in the last year, there was a sharp rise of 8.5% in the price of clothes between July and August of this year.
Footwear also rose sharply in just one month, up 10.2% as parents fitted out their children with new uniforms ahead of the new school year.
Elsewhere, the cost of renting is rising at double the rate of inflation, up 4.5% in the last year. Electricity is on the rise too, up 2.4% but that does not take into account recent price hikes announced by Energia and Flogas. It is feared other suppliers may follow suit heading into the winter.
The cost of eating and drinking out continues to rise with the cost of food in a restaurant up 3.5%. The average price of a pint of stout has risen to above €6, up from €5.81 12 months ago. A pint of lager stands at €6.50, up from €6.23.
Insurance, meanwhile, continues to rise significantly at over triple the rate of inflation at 7.1%.
Health insurance is rising the fastest at 7.8% while car insurance is up 5.8%.
The cost of living has been coming into sharper focus as this Government prepares its first budget since last year’s general election.
While Tánaiste Simon Harris has indicated that “help is coming”, the coalition has ruled out one-off supports that have characterised recent budgets as the surge in prices began to bite households.
Organisations such as older persons charity Alone are among those who have called on the Government to put in place long-term cost-of-living relief in next month’s budget.
“If those gaps [from one of measures] aren’t filled by targeted measures, we’re looking at more older people being at risk of poverty,” chief executive officer Seán Moynihan said.
