High inflation a concern for all in Irish economy - IBEC
Reacting to today’s inflation figures from the CSO, IBEC Director of Policy Danny McCoy said: “The continuing high inflation rate remains a major concern for all in the Irish economy.
"It remains the case that housing costs are the main components in the spike in the CPI. The underlying rate excluding housing was 2.5% in March.
“Notwithstanding the current impact of externally determined interest rates and energy costs, the combination of higher interest rates and an appreciating euro will reduce inflation over the course of the year. It is crucial that domestic factors reinforce this downward trend by ensuring that costs are curtailed.”
Inflation increased to 5.1% in March according to the Consumer Price Index data released by the CSO. In the internationally comparable EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, inflation was 2.9%, still worryingly above the Euro area average.
“The CSO figures point to the exceptionally high services price inflation in the Irish economy, which is at a two-decade high. Even excluding the mortgage interest component, underlying services price inflation is currently at an annual rate of 5.6%,” said Mr McCoy.
“The Government has a responsibility to curtail services inflation by controlling costs of government services such as health, education, energy and local charges. In contrast, goods inflation remained comparatively low at 0.4%,”said Mr McCoy.
