Inflation remains steady as CSO reports changes in National Average Prices
Ireland’s inflation rate remained steady at 2.7% in the year to February 2026, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office, with rising education and insurance costs offset by declines in transport and household goods.
The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures show prices increased by 2.7% between February 2025 and February 2026, matching the year-on-year rate recorded in January.
When energy and unprocessed food are excluded, inflation stood slightly higher at 2.8% over the same period.
Education Services recorded the largest annual increase, rising by 8.9%, while Insurance & Financial Services prices climbed by 6.0%.
By contrast, Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance fell by 1.1% over the year, and Transport declined by 0.3%.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 0.9% between January and February 2026.
The biggest monthly increases were seen in Clothing & Footwear, which jumped by 4.4%, and Recreation, Sport & Culture, which rose by 2.4%.
Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco was the only division to record a fall during the month, declining by 0.5%.
Commenting on the release, Anthony Dawson said the latest data showed moderate but consistent price growth.
“Today’s release of the CPI shows that prices for consumer goods and services in February 2026 rose by 2.7% on average when compared with February 2025,” he said.
He noted the figures do not yet reflect the impact of recent geopolitical tensions.
“As these results are for February, they do not capture the impact of the recent events in the Middle East,” Dawson said.
He added that the rise in Education Services was driven largely by higher third-level costs introduced in October 2025.
The CSO also reported changes in the National Average Prices for several everyday grocery items.
Over the past year, the price of sirloin steak increased by €4.37 per kilogram, Irish cheddar rose by 30 cent per kg, butter increased by 3 cent per pound, while both white and brown sliced pan saw small increases. However, the cost of a 2.5kg bag of potatoes fell by 20 cent and two litres of full-fat milk dropped by 2 cent.
Meanwhile, Kate English of Deloitte echoed Dawson’s sentiments about the February figures not reflecting emerging inflationary pressures linked to geopolitical tensions in the Gulf region.
Deloitte's Kate English.
“Today’s inflation figures are steady in Ireland, but next month’s could be an entirely different ball game,” she said, warning that rising fertiliser and gas costs could feed through to higher food prices if the conflict persists.
English added that markets will also be watching upcoming interest rate decisions from major central banks, including the European Central Bank, the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, with policymakers’ messaging likely to provide key signals for the inflation outlook.
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