Consumer Price Index March 2026

Headline Table and Graph

Figure 1 shows the development of the CPI and HICP over recent months. The primary difference between CPI and HICP is the inclusion of Mortgage Interest in the CPI, whereas it’s not included in the HICP. Full details of the difference between CPI and HICP can be found in the background notes of this release.

Annual and Monthly Price Changes

Prices on average, as measured by the CPI, were 3.6% higher in March 2026 compared with March 2025.

The most notable changes in the year were increases in Clothing & Footwear (+9.0%), Education Services (+8.9%), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+7.2%) and Insurance & Financial Services (+5.8%). The only division to show a decrease was Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance (-0.9%).

Consumer Prices in March, as measured by the CPI, increased by 1.6% in the month. During March of last year, prices increased by 0.7% in the month. The most significant monthly price increases were in Transport (+5.2%) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+3.9%). The largest decreases were recorded in Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages and Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (both -0.3%).

Contributions to the Overall CPI

Annual Change

Table 3 shows the contribution of each 2-digit ECOICOP¹ division to the overall change in the CPI. A detailed breakdown of the individual components of each of the 13 ECOICOP divisions is presented in Tables 4 to 16.

The divisions which caused the largest upward percentage point (pp) contributions to the CPI in the year were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+1.12 pp), Restaurants and Accommodation Services (+0.72 pp), Clothing and Footwear (+0.38 pp) and Transport (+0.33 pp).

The only division to cause a downward contribution to the CPI in the year was Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance (-0.05 pp).

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

• Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels increased primarily due to a rise in the cost of home heating oil, rents, mortgage interest repayments and electricity.
• Restaurants & Accommodation Services rose mainly due to higher prices for alcoholic drinks and food consumed in licensed premises, restaurants, cafes etc.
• Clothing and Footwear increased due to higher costs for garments, shoes and other footwear.
• Transport rose due to higher prices for diesel and petrol.
• Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance fell mainly due to lower prices for furniture, furnishings & loose carpets and household textiles.

¹_{European Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose version 2.}

Monthly Change

The divisions which caused the largest upward percentage point contributions to the CPI in the month were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+0.60 pp) and Transport (+0.58 pp). The division that caused the largest downward percentage point contribution to the CPI in the month was Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (-0.04 pp).

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

• Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels rose due to higher prices for home heating oil and rent payments.
• Transport increased primarily due to higher prices for diesel and petrol and a rise in the cost of airfares.
• Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages fell mainly due to lower prices for sugar, confectionery and desserts.

CPI sub-indices

Tables 4 to 16 detail all ECOICOP sub-indices of the CPI.

Table 2 and table 18 detail selected consumer price index sub-indices. The sub index for Services rose by 3.5% in the year to March, while Goods increased by 3.7%. Services, excluding mortgage interest repayments, increased by 3.4% in the year since March 2025.

The CPI excluding tobacco increased by 1.6% in the month of March and rose by 3.6% in the year. The CPI excluding mortgage interest rose by 1.7% in the month and climbed by 3.6% in the year.

Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices

Prices on average, as measured by the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), increased by 3.6% compared with March 2025.

Table 20 details the ECOICOP sub-indices for the HICP. The most notable changes in the year were increases in Clothing & Footwear and Education Services (both +9.0%), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+7.7%) and Insurance & Financial Services (+5.2%). The only decrease was recorded in Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance (-1.0%).

The HICP increased by 1.8% in the month. This compares to an increase of 0.7% recorded in March of last year.

The most significant monthly price increases were in Transport (+5.4%) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+4.7%). The largest price decrease was recorded in Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-0.4%).

National Average Price

National Average Prices for selected goods and services for March 2026 are detailed in Table 21.

Looking at the National Average Prices of some staple items:

• The national average price for bread (large (800g) white sliced pan) increased by 3 cents in the year to March 2026, while the same size brown sliced pan decreased by 1 cent in the year.
• The national average price of 1kg of sirloin steak rose by €3.47 in the year, while the average price for 2.5kg of potatoes was down 18 cents.
• The national average price of full fat milk per 2 litres was down 4 cents in the year, while butter per lb fell by 7 cents and the average price of Irish cheddar per kg increased by 10 cents.
• The national average price of a take-home 50cl can of lager at €2.40 was up 1 cent from March 2025, while a take-home 50cl can of cider at €2.71 was up 2 cents.
• In March 2026, the national average price of a pint of stout in licensed premises was €6.30, up 26 cents in the year, while a pint of lager was €6.73, up 29 cents compared with March 2025.