Alcohol and tobacco were other goods which defied the fall in the State’s inflation rate.
Despite seeing the State inflation rate fall during May, prices for hotels and restaurants continued to rise across the country.
Last month was the third in succession in which the general rate of inflation fell, owing largely to the continued decrease in transport and energy costs.
According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), prices for hotels and restaurants in Ireland rose by 1.6% during May, with demand rising entering a predicted busy summer period.
The CSO stated “Restaurants and hotels rose due to higher prices for hotel accommodation and higher costs of alcoholic drinks and food consumed in licensed premises, restaurants, cafes, etc”.
The prices of alcohol and tobacco also rose by 1%, the CSO also said.
Cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages also rises
Consumer prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose by 6.6% on the same period last year, but this was down by 0.6% from the month of April.
Despite the fall in the rise of inflation, the figure of 6.6% still sits far above the European Central Bank’s target rate of 2%, and is the 12th successive month in which it was above 5%.
The sectors which saw the largest falls in price on a month basis were transport (-1.2%), housing and utilities (-0.1%) and communications (-0.1%).
Transport costs saw a decline thanks to falling prices for fuel, however these savings were largely offset by rising prices for motor vehicles and airfares.
Figures also revealed that the cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages was up almost 13% year on year, as the cost of living crisis continues to impact Irish consumers.
This article originally appeared on JOE
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