New data published today (Wednesday, April 29) shows a jump in energy and food prices.

Food prices are estimated to have risen by 2% in the last 12 months, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for Ireland is estimated to have risen by 3.6% in the 12 months to April 2026 and increased by 0.4% since March 2026, the CSO said.

This compares with HICP inflation of 3.6% in Ireland in the 12 months to March 2026 and an annual increase of 2.6% in the HICP for the Eurozone in the same period.

Looking at the components of the flash HICP for Ireland in April 2026, energy prices are estimated to have climbed by 2.6% in the month and were up by 15.5% over the 12 months to April 2026, the CSO said.

Food prices are estimated to have increased by 0.3% in the last month and gone up by 2% in the last 12 months.

Excluding energy and unprocessed food, the HICP is estimated to have grown by 2.3% since April 2025.

CSO data

Commenting on the data published today, Anthony Dawson, statistician in the prices division, highlighted that energy prices are estimated to have increased by 2.6% in the month and risen by 15.5% since April 2025. 

"These increases in energy prices may have been influenced by recent events in the Middle East," he said.

"The collection of prices for April 2026 took place between April 13-23 which means that some fuel prices would have been collected before the extra government measures on fuel costs were introduced."

He added that service prices have increased by 0.4% in the month and risen by 2.9% in the 12 months to April 2026.

The corresponding rate for the Eurozone will be published on 30 April 30, 2026, Dawson said.

He added that these flash estimates are subject to revision when the final HICP results are published next month.

Consumer prices

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the official measure of inflation for Ireland and is published monthly by the CSO.

The CPI release for April 2026 will be published on May 14, 2026 and the final results of the HICP for Ireland for April 2026 will be published as part of the CPI release, the CSO said.

The HICP is an index of consumer prices that has been harmonised to allow comparisons across Eurozone countries.

The CSO compile the HICP flash estimates and final results for Ireland and submit those to Eurostat which then compiles the Eurozone estimate and publish that along with the results for the countries within the Eurozone.

While the final HICP results for the Eurozone are usually published by Eurostat around the middle of the month following the reference month, flash estimates are issued around the end of each reference month.