New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the annual rate of inflation slowed to 2.9% in March, down from a rate of 3.4% in February.
March marked the fifth consecutive month where the inflation rate was lower than 5%.
The CSO said that restaurants and hotels prices rose by 5.5% last month on an annual basis mainly due to higher prices for alcoholic drinks and food consumed in licensed premises and restaurants as well as an increase in the cost of hotel accommodation.
March also saw higher prices for package holidays, while transport costs rose by 3.7% mainly due to higher prices for petrol, diesel and cars, with these higher prices partially offset by lower prices for airfares.
Higher prices for health insurance and car insurance premiums and hairdressers were also recorded last month, while clothing and footwear prices fell by 6.6% due to sales.
Today's CSO figures also show that consumer prices rose by 0.5% in March on a monthly basis. The biggest monthly price changes were increases in transport costs, which rose 2.9%, while the cost of Recreation & Culture activities increased by 2.8%.
The biggest decreases were recorded in the cost of Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, which fell by 1.8% and Clothing & Footwear prices, which slowed by 1.8%.
Meanwhile, the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), which is used to compare prices across the EU, rose by 1.7% in March. HICP does not include mortgage interest repayments.
The CSO today also published details of the national average prices for selected goods for March.
These show that the national average price for a large white sliced pan was down three cents in the year to March while the same size brown sliced pan also fell by three cents in the year.
The CSO said that spaghetti per 500g increased by three cents, while the average price for 2.5kg of potatoes was up 48 cents.
Meanwhile, full fat milk per 2 litres decreased by 10 cents in the year while butter per pound fell by 14 cents and the average price of Irish cheddar per kg fell by 26 cents.
The national average price of a pint of stout in licensed premises was €5.65, up 17 cents in the year, while a pint of lager was €6.07, up 15 cents compared with March of last year, the CSO added.
