Consumer Price Index October 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, are 4.3% higher in October 2026 compared with October 2025.

The most notable changes in the year were increases in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+10.7%), Transport (+9.0%) and Insurance & Financial Services (+4.8%). The only division to record a decline when compared with October 2025 was Education Services (-0.6%).

Consumer Prices in October, as measured by the CPI, increased by 0.7% in the month. During October of last year prices rose by 0.5% in the month. The most significant monthly price increases were in Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+2.6%) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+2.2%). The largest monthly decrease was in Education Services (-0.8%).

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 (+1.66 pp), Transport (+0.99 pp) and Restaurants & Accommodation Services (+0.61 pp).

The only division that made a negative contribution to the CPI in the year to October 2026 was Education Services (-0.01 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, electricity, gas, rents and mortgage interest repayments.
• Transport rose due to higher prices for diesel and petrol as well as increases in the cost of airfares.
• Restaurants & Accommodation Services increased mainly due to higher prices for food and drink in restaurants and cafes etc.

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

Monthly Change

The divisions that caused the largest upward percentage point contributions to the CPI in the month were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+0.35 pp) and Transport (+0.13 pp). The division which caused the largest downward percentage point contribution to the CPI in the month was Restaurants & Accommodation Services (-0.14 pp).

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

• Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels was up primarily due to higher prices for home heating oil, electricity and gas as well as increases in the cost of rents and mortgage interest repayments.
• Transport rose mainly due to higher costs for diesel and petrol. This increase was partially offset by lower prices for airfares.
• Restaurants & Accommodation Services fell mainly due to lower prices for hotels and similar accommodation. This decrease was partially offset by increases in prices for food and drinks consumed in licensed premises, restaurants, cafes, etc.

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 4.0% in the year to October, while Goods increased by 5.0%. Services excluding mortgage interest repayments increased by 3.6% in the year since October 2025.

The CPI excluding tobacco increased by 0.7% in the month of October and rose by 4.3% in the year. The CPI excluding mortgage interest rose by 0.7% in the month and climbed by 4.2% in the year.

Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices

Prices on average, as measured by the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), increased by 4.2% compared with October 2025.

Table 20 details the ECOICOP sub-indices for the HICP. The most notable changes in the year were increases in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+10.9%) and Transport (+9.6%). Education Services was the only division to record a decline when compared with October 2025 (-0.7%)

The HICP increased by 0.7% in the month. This compares to an increase of 0.4% recorded in October of last year.

The most significant monthly price increases were in Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+2.5%) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+2.4%). The largest price decrease was recorded in Education Services (-0.8%).

National Average Price

National Average Prices for selected goods and services for October 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) was up 1 cent in the year to October 2026, while the same size brown sliced pan decreased by 2 cents in the year.
• The national average price of 1kg of sirloin steak increased by 15 cents in the year, while the average price for 2.5kg of potatoes was up by 12 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 57 cents and the average price of Irish cheddar per kg decreased by 28 cents.
• The national average price of a take-home 50cl can of lager at €2.43 was up 1 cent compared to October 2025, while a take-home 50cl can of cider, at €2.76, was up 5c.
• In October 2026, the national average price of a pint of stout in licensed premises was €6.33, up 26 cents in the year, while a pint of lager was €6.75, up 25 cents compared with October 2025.
• The national average price for a litre of diesel in October 2026 was €2.19, an increase of 48 cents on the same time last year. Petrol prices increased by 28 cents to €2.02 a litre.