Inflation rises in year to February as cheese, white bread and butter prices go up

As the results are for February, they do not capture the impact of the recent events in the Middle East. File picture

The price of staple products such as cheese, butter, steak and white bread have all seen sharp rises in the last 12 months according to the Central Statistics Office.

It found inflation rate rose by 2.7% in the year to February - though it pointed out this was before the latest war in the Middle East.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) tracks roughly 53,000 prices each month to measure how the cost changes of everyday goods and services.

Products such as sirloin steak, cheese, butter, and white bread recorded some of the largest price rises, while the average cost of milk and potatoes fell over the same period.

The CSO also reported the highest volume of housing permissions in 16 years. A total of 20,615 homes were granted planning permission in 2025, the largest annual figure since 2009, when 26,814 approvals were issued.

The divisions with the largest increases in the 12 months to February 2026 were education services (+8.9%) and insurance and financial services (+6%).

The CSO's Anthony Dawson said: “Today’s release of the CPI shows prices for consumer goods and services in February 2026 rose by 2.7% on average when compared with February 2025. It should be noted that as these results are for February, they do not capture the impact of the recent events in the Middle East.”

While education services have consistently experienced price rises every month since October last year, consistent rises in the clothing and footwear sector have been replaced by rises in the insurance and financial services sector.

Furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance (-1.1%) and transport (-0.3%) were the only divisions to show a decline when compared with February 2025.

On national average prices, Mr Dawson noted there were annual increases for sirloin steak per kg (+€4.37), Irish cheddar per kg, (+30c), a pound of butter (+3c), and an 800g loaf of white sliced pan (+3c).

There were decreases in the price of a 2.5kg bag of potatoes (-20c) two litres of full fat milk (-2c) when compared with February 2025.

Housing statistics

Meanwhile, there was an annual increase of 7.9% in the total number of dwelling units granted planning permission in 2025 to 34,974, up from 32,401 units in 2024. This compares with an annual decrease of 21.4% in 2024.

In 2025, the number of apartments granted planning permission rose by 8.8% when compared with 2024, while house approvals were up 7.3%.

There was an annual increase of 8.5% in the number of multi-development houses receiving planning permission in 2025, compared with a rise of 3.9% in one-off houses.

Across the four local authorities of Dublin, planning permission was granted for 7,366 apartments in 2025, up 20.3% when compared with 2024. Dublin accounted for more than half (51%) of all apartments granted planning permission in the State in 2025.