Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

We will deal with this issue in the budget, but consumer price inflation, as measured by the European Union harmonised index of consumer prices, HICP index, has eased significantly over the past two years, with the annual inflation rate in May 2025 standing at 1.4% compared with 2% in May of last year. That is below the 2% target rate of inflation set by the ECB. In April, Ireland had the sixth lowest rate of inflation among the 27 EU countries, which is quite a remarkable outcome given the strength of domestic economic activity here vis-à-vis other European countries.

See this speech in context