Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 249: To ask the Minister for Finance if he has identified the most likely causes of price increases in respect of goods or services which are most likely to impact negatively on the economy but which are not reflected in the consumer price index; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30288/04]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The director general of the Central Statistics Office has sole responsibility for and is independent in deciding the statistical methodology and professional standards to be used in compiling the consumer price index. The latest consumer price index release shows that the annual rate of inflation in October was 2.7%. As a result, inflation has averaged just 2.1% in the first ten months of this year, compared to an average of 3.8% in the same period last year. My Department's forecast for consumer price index inflation in 2004, published in the economic review and outlook in August, is 2.2%. This represents a significant moderation from the 3.5% rate of increase in 2003. This moderation in the rate of inflation is welcome.