The poorest in the State have been hardest hit by inflation, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.
In the last five years, from March 2018 to March 2023, the consumer price index (CPI) for the lowest income households in the State increased by 19.1 per cent compared with an average of 16.9 per cent. For those on the highest incomes, inflation has risen by 16.0 per cent.
Households who rent privately have seen their cost of living increase by 17.4 per cent in the last five years while those who rented from a local authority experienced hikes of 18.5 per cent.
The unprecedented rise in inflation in recent years is reflected in the fact that almost half of the 16.9 per cent overall rise in prices was concentrated in the 12 months between March 2022 and March 2023.
Between March 2018 and March 2022, the CPI increased by 8.6 per cent, yet in the 12 months from March 2022 to March 2023, it rose by 7.7 per cent.
The rate of inflation for those in the poorest households in the 12 months to March is 8.3 per cent compared with 7.3 per cent for those in the highest income households. The average annual rate of inflation in March was 7.7 per cent nationally.
The poorest have been hit hardest by rises in the cost of energy and food, accounting for nearly a third of their rise in their cost of living.
For those earning the highest incomes, the cost of restaurants and hotels was the largest contributor to their estimated inflation (1.9 per cent of 7.6 per cent) followed by mortgage interest payments (1.5 percentage points).
Single people without children had the highest rate of inflation (8.5 per cent). Households containing two adults with more than three children, or households containing three or more adults with children also had higher than average inflation (7.9 per cent).
Other households with higher average inflation included single parent households with children (8.0 per cent), and two adults without children (7.8 per cent).
Households that rent their home from a private owner had an estimated inflation rate of 7.3 per cent, versus 8.3 per cent for those renting from a local authority. The annual inflation rate for urban households stands at 7.7 per cent while estimated inflation stood at 7.4 per cent for rural households.
Young people under the age of 35 were the ones least affected by inflation with an estimated rate of 7.2 per cent. For those aged between 35 and 64, the rate was 7.7 per cent and where the reference person was aged 65 or over it was 7.8 per cent.
