Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 86: To ask the Minister for Finance the action he can take to address the issue of rising costs in respect of goods and services, contributory factors to which are not reflected in the CPI; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29988/04]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Director General of the Central Statistics Office, CSO, has sole responsibility for and is independent in deciding the statistical methodology and professional standards to be used in compiling the consumer price index, CPI. The latest CPI release shows inflation in October was 2.7%. 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 CPI inflation in 2004, which was published in the Economic Review and Outlook in August, is 2.2%. This compares to an annual inflation rate of 3.5% in 2003. This moderation in the rate of inflation is welcome.

Maintaining a moderate rate of inflation remains a key priority of economic policy because of its importance in restoring competitiveness. In this regard, only limited changes to indirect taxes were made in budget 2004 because the goal of keeping inflation low took precedence on that occasion.