The average prices paid by consumers for the majority of dairy products increased in the year to February, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The national average price of 2 litres of full fat milk in February stood at €2.44, up 26c from the same month in 2024.

The average price of butter rose by 70c per lb (454g) to €4.43/lb, while Irish cheddar per kilogramme increased by 50 cents to €11.14/kg.

The data shows that a large (800g) white sliced pan of bread was unchanged in the year to February 2025 at €1.64, while the same size brown sliced pan reduced by 1c in the year.

The average price for 2.5kg of potatoes was down 1c to €3.85, 500g of spaghetti increased by 3c in the year to €1.47.

The price of a striploin steak per kilogram increased from €22.92 in February 2023 to €23.44 a year later.

Meanwhile, the price per sirloin steak increased from €16.60/kg to €17.39/kg this year.

The average price of pork loin chops per kg increased from €9.02 last year to €9.27, while cooked ham per kg decreased slightly from €20.36 to €20.30.

The CSO data shows that the average price for a leg of lamb was €14.88 in February, up from €13.99 a year previously.

The national average price of a take-home 50cl can of lager at €2.42 was up 7c from February 2024, while a take-home 50cl can of cider at €2.69 was up 2c.

In February 2025, the national average price of a pint of stout in licensed premises was €5.93, up 29c in the year, while a pint of lager was €6.32, up 26c compared with February 2024.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 1.8% between February 2024 and February 2025, down from an annual increase of 1.9% in the 12 months to January 2025.

Excluding energy and unprocessed food, the CPI grew by 2.2% in the 12 months to February 2025.

The divisions with the largest increases in the 12 months to February 2025 were alcoholic beverages and tobacco (3.7%) and restaurants and hotels (3.1%).

Consumer prices rose by 0.9% in the month between January 2025 and February 2025.

The divisions with the largest rises in the month were clothing and footwear (+6.1%) and recreation and culture (+2.3%).