Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 64: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will make a statement on the jump in the annual rate of inflation to 3.3%, a level last seen in June 2003, according to the consumer price index. [12409/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Inflation, as measured by annual changes in the consumer price index, CPI, was 3.3% in February. Part of the pick-up in the annual inflation rate is due to the rise in interest rates by the ECB. In addition, the price of oil rose throughout most of last year and this had an impact on the annual rate of inflation in February. We have no control over these external factors.

In my recent budget, my Department forecast that CPI inflation will average 2.7% in 2006. I made no changes to indirect taxes in that budget and this will help to ensure relatively modest inflation in 2006.