New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the annual rate of inflation rose to 2.9% in October, up from 2.7% the previous month.
This is the highest annual rate of inflation since March 2024 when the rate was also 2.9%.
Today's figures show that the biggest price increases in the 12 months to October were seen in Education, with costs in the sector rising by 8.4% on the back of an increase in third level education.
Prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages were up 4.5% with big increases seen in the price of beef which rose by 23.5%, while lamb prices were up 16.7%. The price of milk rose by 10%, while butter prices jumped by 11.6%, chocolate prices were up 8.9% and coffee prices soared 10.6%.
The CSO said that on a monthly basis, inflation rose by 0.5%. Inflation as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, which strips out mortgage interest costs, increased to 2.8% year-on-year from 2.7% a month earlier, the CSO added.
The CSO also today published its National Average Prices for selected goods and services for October.
They show price increases in the 12 months to October for Irish cheddar per kg (up 80 cent), a pound of butter (up 64 cent), 2 litres of full fat milk (up 22 cent), an 800g loaf of white sliced pan (up 7 cent), an 800g loaf of brown sliced pan (up 3 cent), and spaghetti per 500g ( up a cent).
But a 2.5kg bag of potatoes fell by 38 cent when compared with October last year.
