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Consumer Price Index December 2024

Consumer prices rose by 1.4% over the 12 months to December 2024

Online ISSN: 2009-5767
CSO statistical publication, , 11am

Key Findings

  • The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 1.4% between December 2023 and December 2024, up from an annual increase of 1.0% in the 12 months to November 2024.

  • Excluding energy and unprocessed food, the CPI grew by 2.1% in the 12 months to December 2024.

  • The divisions with the largest increases in the 12 months to December 2024 were Restaurants & Hotels (+3.7%) and Recreation & Culture (+3.3%).

  • The only divisions to record a decline when compared with December 2023 were Clothing & Footwear (-8.0%) and Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance (-1.3%).

  • Consumer prices went up by 0.9% in the month between November 2024 and December 2024.

  • The divisions with the largest growth in the month were Transport (+4.1%) and Recreation & Culture (+3.0%).

  • The only divisions to record a decline in the month were Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-0.9%) and Communications (-0.2%).

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (16 January 2025) published the Consumer Price Index (CPI) December 2024.

Commenting on annual changes shown in the release, Anthony Dawson, Statistician in the Prices Division, said: “Today’s release of the CPI shows that prices for consumer goods and services in December 2024 rose by 1.4% on average when compared with December 2023.

Annual Changes 

The most significant increases in the 12 months to December 2024 were seen in Restaurants & Hotels (+3.7%) and Recreation & Culture (+3.3%). The annual change in Restaurants & Hotels costs reflects higher prices for food and alcoholic drinks consumed in licensed premises, restaurants, cafes etc.

Clothing & Footwear (-8.0%) and Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance (-1.3%) were the only divisions to show a decrease when compared with December 2023.

Monthly Changes

Consumer prices in December 2024 rose by 0.9% in the month. During December 2023, prices grew by 0.5% in the month. In December 2024, the most significant monthly price changes were in Transport (+4.1%) and Recreation & Culture (+3.0%). Transport increased mainly due to higher prices for airfares, diesel, and petrol.

Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-0.9%) and Communications (-0.2%) were the only divisions to show a decline when compared with November 2024.

It should be noted that these figures relate to the CPI. The flash estimate published on 31 December 2024 related to the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP).

(See Background Notes for differences between CPI and HICP)."

National Average Prices

The National Average Prices for selected goods and services for December 2024 are also published today. The National Average Prices are compiled together with the CPI. Commenting on the National Average Prices, Anthony Dawson said: “There were price increases in December 2024 for a pound of butter (+60c), two litres of full fat milk (+18c), a 2.5kg bag of potatoes (+16c), Irish cheddar per kg (+14c), and spaghetti per 500g (+3c).

There were decreases in the price of an 800g loaf of white sliced pan (-1c), and an 800g loaf of brown sliced pan (-1c) when compared with December 2023.”

The comprehensive list of items included in the National Average Prices and their monthly prices are available at: https://data.cso.ie/table/CPM12.

Headline Table and Graph

Figure 1 shows the development of the CPI and HICP over recent months. It also shows the recent difference between the CPI and HICP. This difference is primarily due to the fact the CPI includes mortgage interest whereas the HICP does not include mortgage interest.

CPI and HICP
 CPI HICP
 % monthly change % annual change % monthly change % annual change
Aug 20240.1 1.7 0.1 1.1
Sep 2024-0.9 0.7 -1.0 0.0
Oct 20240.3 0.7 0.3 0.1
Nov 2024-0.5 1.0 -0.5 0.5
Dec 20240.9 1.4 0.9 1.0
X-axis labelCPIHICP
Dec 20234.63.2
Jan 20244.12.7
Feb 20243.42.3
Mar 20242.91.7
Apr 20242.61.6
May 20242.62
Jun 20242.21.5
Jul 20242.21.5
Aug 20241.71.1
Sep 20240.70
Oct 20240.70.1
Nov 202410.5
Dec 20241.41

Consumer Price Index Annual Review – 2024

The annual average rate of inflation in 2024 was +2.1%. This compares to an increase of 6.3% for 2023 and an increase of 7.8% for 2022.

The largest year-on-year price increase was recorded in January 2024 when prices rose by 4.1% compared with the previous January. 

The largest price increases were recorded for Restaurants & Hotels (+4.7%), Recreation & Culture (+4.4%), Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+3.7%) and Miscellaneous Goods & Services (+3.3%). The only decreases were recorded for Clothing & Footwear (-6.1%) and Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance (-0.7%).

During 2024, prices for energy products fell on average by 7.7% compared to an increase of 5.1% in 2023. The price of Goods increased on average by 0.2% compared to a rise of 3.2% in 2023. The price of Services (which includes mortgage interest) rose by 3.4% compared to a rise of 8.7% the previous year.

Table A - Annual Average Percentage Changes by COICOP Division

Annual and Monthly Price Changes

Prices on average, as measured by the CPI, were 1.4% higher in December 2024 compared with December 2023.

The most notable changes in the year were increases in Restaurants & Hotels (+3.7%), Recreation & Culture (+3.3%), Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+3.1%) and Education (+2.3%). The only divisions to show a decrease were Clothing & Footwear (-8.0%) and Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance (-1.3%).

Consumer Prices in December, as measured by the CPI, increased by 0.9% in the month. During December of last year, prices rose by 0.5% in the month. The most significant monthly price changes were increases in Transport (+4.1%) and Recreation & Culture (+3.0%). The only declines were recorded in Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-0.9%) and Communications (-0.2%).

Table 1 - Consumer Price Index (All Items)

Table 2 - Consumer Price COICOP Division Indices - December 2024

Contributions to the Overall CPI

Annual Change

Table 3 shows the contribution of each 2-digit COICOP1 division to the overall change in the CPI. A detailed breakdown of the individual components of each of the 12 COICOP divisions is presented in Tables 4 to 15.

The divisions which caused the largest upward percentage point (pp) contributions to the CPI in the year were Restaurants & Hotels (+0.73 pp), Miscellaneous Goods & Services (+0.23 pp), Recreation & Culture (+0.23 pp) and Transport (+0.20 pp).

The only divisions to cause a downward contribution to the CPI in the year were Clothing & Footwear (-0.44 pp) and Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance (-0.07 pp).

The main factors contributing to the annual change were as follows:

  • Restaurants & Hotels rose mainly due to higher prices for alcoholic drinks and food consumed in licensed premises, restaurants, cafes etc.
  • Miscellaneous Goods & Services increased primarily due to higher health and motor insurance premiums and an increase in prices in hairdressing salons & personal grooming establishments. This increase was partially offset by lower prices for childcare services and other appliances, articles & products for personal care.
  • Recreation & Culture rose mainly due to higher prices for recreational & sporting services, package holidays and cultural services.
  • Transport increased primarily due to higher prices for airfares, the maintenance and repair of personal transport equipment, petrol, and other services in respect of personal transport equipment. This increase was partially offset by a reduction in the cost of motor cars.
  • Clothing & Footwear fell due to sales.
  • Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance decreased primarily due to lower prices for household textiles and furniture & furnishings.

1Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose Adapted to the Needs of Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (2000).

Figure 2: Contribution of CPI COICOP Divisions to the Overall CPI Annual Percentage Change - December 2024

Monthly Change

The divisions which caused the largest upward percentage point contributions to the CPI in the month were Transport (+0.49 pp) and Recreation & Culture (+0.21 pp). The only division to cause a downward percentage point contribution to the CPI in the month was Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-0.04 pp).

The main factors contributing to the monthly change were as follows:

  • Transport rose mainly due to higher prices for airfares, diesel, and petrol. This increase was partially offset by a reduction in the cost of motor cars.
  • Recreation & Culture increased primarily due to higher prices for package holidays.
  • Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco decreased primarily due to lower prices for alcoholic beverages sold in supermarkets and off licences.
Table 3 - Contributions to the change in the All Items CPI - December 2024

CPI sub-indices

Tables 4 to 15 detail all COICOP1 sub-indices of the CPI.

Table 2 and table 17 detail selected consumer price index sub-indices. The sub index for Services rose by 2.7% in the year to December, while Goods decreased by 0.7%. Services, excluding mortgage interest repayments, increased by 2.7% in the year since December 2023.

The CPI excluding tobacco increased by 0.9% in the month of December and rose by 1.2% in the year. The CPI excluding mortgage interest rose by 0.9% in the month and increased by 1.3% in the year.

1Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose Adapted to the Needs of Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (2000).

Table 4 - COICOP Division 01 Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages - December 2024

Table 5 - COICOP Division 02 Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco - December 2024

Table 6 - COICOP Division 03 Clothing and Footwear - December 2024

Table 7 - COICOP Division 04 Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels - December 2024

Table 8 - COICOP Division 05 Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance - December 2024

Table 9 - COICOP Division 06 Health - December 2024

Table 10 - COICOP Division 07 Transport - December 2024

Table 11 - COICOP Division 08 Communications - December 2024

Table 12 - COICOP Division 09 Recreation and Culture - December 2024

Table 13 - COICOP Division 10 Education - December 2024

Table 14 - COICOP Division 11 Restaurants and Hotels - December 2024

Table 15 - COICOP Division 12 Miscellaneous Goods and Services - December 2024

Table 16 - Consumer Price Index Goods and Services by COICOP Division - December 2024

Table 17 - Consumer Price Index Subindices - December 2024

Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices

Prices on average, as measured by the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), increased by 1.0% compared with December 2023.

Table 19 details the COICOP sub-indices for the HICP. The most notable changes in the year were increases in Restaurants & Hotels (+3.8%), Recreation & Culture (+3.3%), Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+3.0%) and Education (+2.2%). There were decreases in Clothing & Footwear (-8.0%), Miscellaneous Goods & Services (-1.4%), Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance (-1.2%) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (-0.7%).

The HICP increased by 0.9% in the month. This compares to an increase of 0.4% recorded in December of last year.

The most significant monthly price changes were increases in Transport (+4.4%) and Recreation & Culture (+3.0%). There were decreases in Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-0.9%) and Communications (-0.2%).

Table 18 - EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) - Ireland

Table 19 - EU Harmonised Consumer Price COICOP Division Indices - December 2024 Ireland

National Average Price

National Average Prices for selected goods and services for December 2024 are detailed in Table 20.

Looking at the National Average Prices of some staple items:

  • The national average price for bread (large (800g) white sliced pan) was down 1 cent in the year to December 2024, while the same size brown sliced pan also reduced by 1 cent in the year.
  • Spaghetti per 500g increased by 3 cents in the year, while the average price for 2.5kg of potatoes was up 16 cents.
  • The national average price of full fat milk per 2 litres was up 18 cents in the year, while butter per lb rose by 60 cents and the average price of Irish cheddar per kg increased by 14 cents.
  • The national average price of a take-home 50cl can of lager at €2.39 was up 7 cents from December 2023, while a take-home 50cl can of cider at €2.67 was up 8 cents.
  • In December 2024, the national average price of a pint of stout in licensed premises was €5.82, up 18 cents in the year, while a pint of lager was €6.27, up 21 cents compared with December 2023.

National Average Price

National Average Prices for selected goods and services for December 2024 are detailed below

These prices are compared to the same product and service in December 2023. A full list of National Average Prices is detailed in Table 20.
Decrease
1c
now €1.63
White Sliced Pan (800g)
Increase
3c
now €1.52
Spaghetti (500g)
Increase
16c
now €3.90
Bag of Potatoes (2.5kg)
Increase
18c
now €2.36
Milk - Full Fat (2L)
Increase
14c
now €10.84
Irish Cheddar Cheese (kg)
Increase
60c
now €4.35
Butter (lb/454g)
Table 20 - National Average Prices

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