Inflation rise prompts consumer watchdog plea
The Government was urged to establish a tough consumer watchdog today as the rate of price increases hit their highest level in almost three years.
Inflation rose by more than 1% in February, bringing the annual rate to 3.3%, mainly due to hikes in fuel, electricity, health and education costs.
The Central Statistics Office said transport costs increased due to higher petrol and diesel prices and air fares, while health costs rose because of higher doctors’ fees.
The price of goods increased by 2% over the year to February, while the cost of services rose by 4.4% in the same period.
The health sector saw price increases of 4.7%, while transport was up 5.7% and education rose by 4.6%.
The biggest monthly rise in the price of goods was seen in the clothing and footwear sector, with prices rising by 12.6%.
Fine Gael Finance Spokesman Richard Bruton said the government’s performance and the effectiveness of Irish Regulators needed to be examined.
“It is their responsibility to ensure a vibrant and competitive economy,” he said.
“The message to the Government is very clear: it cannot continue to ignore the suffering of consumers, and it should stop regarding consumers as a soft target for price rises and stealth taxes. It’s way past time for the Government to:
:: Introduce a tough Consumer Watchdog to defend consumer interests, and
:: Gets its own house in order in terms of pricing policies which are typically six times the rate of inflation in the rest of economy.”
Labour Party spokesperson on Consumer Affairs Kathleen Lynch said the Government’s much heralded promise to abolish the Groceries Order has not been accompanied by a drop in prices.
“The sharp rise in inflation recorded in recent months comes against the background of the Government promising to control escalating prices across a range of sectors,” she said.
“Central to this was the announcement of abolition of the Groceries Order which followed the report of the Consumer Strategy Group
“Five months on from Minister Micheal Martin’s announcement, rather than prices falling, inflation has been consistently on the rise, to a point where it is at the highest it has been for a number of years.”
