The euro zone and Irish economies can tolerate a slight rise in inflation and it should be interpreted as a positive development rather than something to be scared of.
That is the view of one economist here as the threat of price increases impacts markets globally.
The recent $1.9 trillion stimulus package unveiled by US President Joe Biden ignited inflation concerns among investors which prompted them to sell bonds, driving up the interest rate on US government debt.
There were indicators recently that the rise in bond yields was spreading to European government debt.
At the weekend, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told the Irish Times that inflation was an issue that economists should be talking about more and warned that we should be prepared for the possibility of interest rates going up as a result of higher inflation.
"Inflation is going to rise somewhat and we may see a move to slightly higher interest rates, but in the main it would be a good thing because it will mean we've moved away from the pandemic which has depressed inflation," Austin Hughes, chief economist with KBC Bank Ireland, said.
"Inflation tends to be a measure of the heat of the economy and it's been very cold because of the pandemic."
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He said the drop in the value of sterling since the Brexit vote had acted as a damper on inflation here in recent years and he said that situation could change in the years ahead.
However, he said it was unlikely that we would get back to a situation whereby inflation would hit the ECB's 2% target any time soon.
Even in the event of that happening, the bank was unlikely to act hastily, Mr Hughes said.
"We will experience a brief jump in inflation because of a rise in oil prices this year," he explained.
"In 2011, we saw the ECB getting frightened by inflation and they increased interest rates. That won't happen this time."
The more significant risk of inflation is around government debt, but governments have been able to borrow at close to zero to support their economies through the pandemic.
The ECB indicated in recent weeks that it would step up the pace of bond purchases to help keep borrowing costs low.
