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IRISH CONSUMER PRICES were 5.1% higher in October than a year ago, the largest annual change in prices since 2007, the Central Statistics Office has said (CSO).
It follows a sharp drop-off in price inflation last year when consumers were largely unable to spend money on goods and services due to public health restrictions.
Rising energy prices remain the primary driver of the current bout of price inflation, according to the latest CSO Consumer Price Index.
Electricity costs, in particular, skyrocketed last month due to a number of factors including heightened demand, tight electricity supply and skyrocketing wholesale energy prices across Europe as a result of a shortage of natural gas.
Electricity prices overall were up 15.5% in October. Gas prices jumped by 23% in the year.
Home heating and transport fuel costs were also up last month.
Petrol and diesel prices increased by nearly 22% and just over 25% respectively while home heating oil jumped 71% compared to October last year.
Prices in the hotel and restaurants sector, meanwhile, jumped 4.1% last month. Clothing and footwear prices decreased by 2.4%.
The current bout of inflation — triggered largely by rapidly improving consumer demand, rising energy costs as well as the global supply chain and transport crisis — is expected to moderate next year although the outlook remains uncertain, the Central Bank warned last month.
The Department of Finance expects inflation to peak in the current quarter before moderating to 2.2% next, slightly above the European Central Bank’s target of 2%.
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This is 100% the green parties fault. We are being hammered
@Ciarán FitzGerald: bike tures and farmer markets are excluded
@Ciarán FitzGerald: Didn’t realise they wielded so much power in the US 6.1 % inflation. Europe 3.4, Canada 6.2%
Tell us more about how the greens are responsible for global constraints across the world that is having a negative impact on supply chains ?
@Sos: Some lads can’t see past their own nose, they’d rather have a whinge about the bogeyman instead of seeing the bigger picture. Energy prices are skyrocketing globally, same with fuel, building supplies etc. etc
@Alan Biddulph: .Your dead right Alan…
Energy prices are skyrocketing globally, which makes our governments decision to further increase tax on fuel thus adding to inflation in the last budget all the more baffling!!!! I wonder what party influenced that decision!!!!!
@Sean Brannigan: Dam you Eamonn Ryan!!
@Ciarán FitzGerald: Let’s remove all carbon taxes and have a great few years. What could go wrong?
@Ciarán FitzGerald: Such a $[upid ill-informed comment…. As if we haven’t been scroooed by consecutive governments long before the Greens ever existed……the Greens have a long way to go to catch up on the sleeveen politics, the pandering to the rich and the powerful lobby groups not the slightest bit interested in the ordinary Joe or Jane soap, never mind the interests of our planet and the misery we’re passing on to future generations.
@Ciarán FitzGerald: ah sure you could save on fuel costs if you walk the 25k to work every day or cycle for 1.5 hours in the rain at 5 degrees with your baby and toddler on board. Or get the bus at 4am so you’ll make it to work for 9am. The green party have all the solutions.. lets turn every road into a cycling lane and make everyone use it in our warm calm 7month long winters. In the meantime for those who really have no choice but to use a car… sure we can tax them out of existence. Great policies eh.. we need a general election.
@Alan Biddulph: what about all the added taxes
50% of what fuel you put in your car goes directly to the government in tax. In addition up to 17% of all utility bills go directly to the government in taxes and tariffs.
Mary Lou asked Michael Martin last week if he could look into the latter as has been done in the Czech Republic but he waffled on as per usual and failed to answer any of her questions.
@Fay Moynihan: he’s no interest in helping public needs at all. When asked why, he angrily shouts things like “I reject that” while continuing down avenues that effect us terribly. If anyone thinks this gov. care about them they’re deluded.
@Fay Moynihan: 68% actually
Petrol gone over €1.70 in Cork, €380 for new car tyres last week, property tax, electric increases, TV licence, dreading the postman at this stage…what a time to be alive not.
@ianglen: welcome to progress :(
@Simon: forgot house insurance jebus, will have to cut a deal with Santa this xmas.
@ianglen: Metro delayed, public transport infrastructure shelved. No cycling lanes.
Carbon taxes on petrol. They’re even talking about a tax on Netflix. The government could reduce tax on petrol until fuel prices decrease, but nope.
What a silly little country we live in.
@ianglen: I got him off the policy a few years ago, saved a 5er, just in case he claimed and to cover any damage to the chimney too. Can’t be too careful with fat lads above on your roof trying to squeeze down chimneys!
20e diesel barely moves the gauge anymore ! Heart breaking stuff .. One whip around town or a school run and it’s gone ! How many kids can ya fit on the back of one of those electric scooters ?!
@Ríain HenC: take the kids out of the Range Rover and send them to school on a bike. The rain won’t hurt.
@Johnny: a true Dub comment
@Simon: incorrect, I’m in Cork. Great input though Simon.
@Johnny: Yeah that won’t work in most of ireland due to lack of cycling infrastructure that’s been delayed and shelved over the last 30 years. I would not send my child to school on roads without separated cycle lanes. Can’t use narrow bad quality footpaths to cycle on either. This country is just an all round dangerous situation with absolutely no thought gone into the urban design besides the needs of a car. And the NTA in charge of transport are the most unambitious group of people, judging by the greater Dublin area’s new transport strategy.
@Johnny: I went to primary school in the 1980s everyone walked to school or got a bus if it wasn’t local now kids get dropped to school even if it’s less than 5 minutes away
@Johnny: We dont all live in cities or large towns! Very little public transport where we are, if my son was to cycle to college he would be killed no cycle paths, so I take him in my 09 Fiesta which does the job!
The Greens are fine for Dublin 4 have no idea of reality elsewhere!
In other words it’s going to cost alot more just to live.
71% increase in home heating oil…. Lets see a normal business increase their margins by that amount and they would soon be gone
Just left Glowpower and received my final bill covering the last 15 days. It was €83 because of their latest price hike (0.22 per kWh). If I had stayed with them I would have been looking at bi-monthly bills of about €300 over the winter period. The highest bi-monthly bill I had ever received up until this year was €120. And this is just one a huge amount of things going up in price.
The politicians must be in for a big increase so.
Greens in = more taxes, why do people not learn?
@Vincent Hughes: FFFG…. for how long? Maybe you’re happy with all the taxes, levies etc they’ve inflicted on us for the last 70 years. Even more disturbing is you’re happy too with who benefited most from that tax regime and how those taxes were spent. Why do people not learn…. You ask!!!! Greens in a tiny minority and only in government a short time…. You might want to learn a few things yourself!!!
@Jerriko17: Greens agreed to go unto Government to push the Green agenda & if they didn’t get their way pull the plug & that is the price we are all paying with taxes on Petrol Diesel Home Heating oil & Electricity they want all fossel fuels gone but no alternatives for people already struggling with Families to pay their way as for Grants for retrofitting its a joke U pay between 50,000 & 70,000 to do retrofitting in your home & you get roughly 15,000 grant what do people with big morgages people on low wages people in older homes on pensions & people on their own do, they are pushing all this but no thought as to how ordinary people can achieve any of this
@Sheila McNulty: Go check the manifestos of all parties for the last election.. Everyone jumped on the “green” bandwagon and some had even more radical policies than the Greens!!!!! Also wrong to blame the Greens for the rise in fuel prices and there’s more hikes on the way with Russia and Belarus holding all the cards on our gas supply chain. A tanker went aground in the suez canal and the world’s supply chain was crippled! ..What about Covid!!!! Until we can produce our own energy we will be forever at the mercy of oil and gas tycoons. The Greens have been saying this for years, no one listened and we still want to drive our petrol and diesel cars and heat our leaky and damp houses with expensive gas and oil and belch smokey coal and turf into our towns and villages.
Energia and SSE both claim to be 100 % renewable/green suppliers of electricity, not using any fossil fuels to produce power… Why are their prices rising? Has God suddenly raised his prices for wind?
This is not a problem.
In fact the Irish govt has a quick solution: tax their way out of the climate crisis!
Thank God for the turf and NEVER let any environmental bollix take it away from us!
@John Mc Donagh: Why do you assume God isn’t on the side of the environmentalist… He/she just might be!!!!!! You might want to take a look at what the Pope has been saying about climate change and caring for the planet….
@Jerriko17: easy to say when he lives in a ivory tower
@Gerrard: Actually…. he lives in a very modest apartment and eats his meals in the communal eating area and is trying to change things by example…. Little steps, admittededly but a positive message nonetheless.
Paid my car insurance today, 25 bucks dearer than last year,to be expected after all the promises from FFFG.
@joe oneill: We don’t want to pay for the protection of the planet and the safety of our kids and grandkids but seem to be happy paying a levy to support the insurance industry since the PMPA collapse (how many years ago) … Weird !!!
Anyone know why the standing charges have been increased by all- surely they are not affected as such by world energy prices?
“Stay in lockdown till you hear from us. There will be no tax hikes in 2021-2022, possibly ever” – Remember that?
Call me selfish, but sometimes I wish only people who bought that would pay for it now…
Fossil fuels made everything, artificially cheap, and subsidies.
Now due to covid and many other knock on effects, we are seeing a glimpse into the not so distant future. Maybe its not a glimpse, maybe its the way its going to stay!
Meanwhile here in the USA inflation is at the highest level in 30 years. Almost 7%.
There are a number of key points to remember here when talking about inflation (i) the REAL rate of inflation is probably 3 times the official rate hence why the official rate is referred to as ” The CP Lie” (ii) it is in the Governments interest to stoke inflation to drive down the real value of it’s massive debt of a quarter of a trillion euros and drive you into a higher tax bracket or get more from VAT which is automatically levied on the increased value and (iii) the Governments tax take on your GROSS income is somewhere between 50 -70% after all taxes , levies , charges etc taken into account . There is no political party currently representing the interests of the taxpayers of Ireland . We are on our own , divided and politically impotent . We are shaved for more tax at each and every budget .
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