Ireland’s EU-harmonised inflation rate (HICP) accelerated to 3.4% year-on-year in August 2026, up from a five-month low of 3.1% in July, according to preliminary estimates. The increase was driven primarily by energy costs, which jumped 11.8%. Service prices rose by 3.7%, while food prices inched up 0.1%.
Core inflation, which excludes energy and unprocessed food, eased to 2.6%, down from 2.9% in July, indicating some underlying price pressures continued to soften.
On a monthly basis, harmonised consumer prices climbed 0.6% in August—the largest increase in five months—after a 0.1% rise in July. The monthly gain was largely fuelled by a 4.3% increase in energy prices.
