New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that food inflation rose to 5.1% in August - its highest level since December 2023 when it stood at 5.6%.
The CSO said the price of several foods rose last month, including butter (up 18.3%), milk (12.4%), bread (3.3%), beef and veal (22.7%), chocolate (16.3%) and coffee (12.1%).
Overall the CSO said that consumer prices rose by 2% in the year to August, compared to an annual reading of 1.7% a month earlier.
This is the first time the inflation rate has been at, or above, 2% since April when it had reached 2.2%.
The CSO said that inflation - as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices - which strips out mortgage interest costs, increased to 1.9% year-on-year from 1.6% a month earlier.
Watch: Consumer Affairs Correspondent Aengus Cox breaks down the profit behind a litre of milk
The price of Clothing & Footwear also rose by 3.4% in August compared to last year but the cost of Transport slowed by 2.3%, the CSO noted.
The CSO also published its National Average Prices for selected goods and services for August today, which showed that a kg of Irish cheddar cheese rose by 93 cent, while a pound of butter increased by 91 cent.
Two litres of full fat milk was up by 28 cent, while an 800g loaf of white sliced pan increased by 7 cent, an 800g loaf of brown sliced pan rose by four cent and spaghetti per 500g was up a cent.
Meanwhile, there was a decrease in the price of a 2.5kg bag of potatoes, which fell by 35 cent compared with August last year.
