Higher tuition fees for colleges and private schools have increased the annual rate of inflation to 4.6 per cent, according to figures published today.
The annual inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Prices Index rose slightly to 4.6 per cent in October, up from 4.5 per cent in September.
The index, which is prepared by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), shows the most significant monthly price changes occurred in education (+7.3 per cent), housing and water (+0.9 per cent) and alcohol (+0.5 per cent).
Education rose with increases in third-level student registration and tuition fees, and higher fees in private schools and playschools, the CSO said.
Utilities such as housing, water and electricity rose due to higher average mortgage interest repayments and increases in the cost of home-heating oil and higher solid fuel prices.
In the past year the most notable drivers of inflation were increases in education (+11.6 per cent), health (+ 9.6 per cent), and eating out (+7.5 per cent).
Ireland remains at the top of the EU's harmonised inflation table - HICP. This index calculates Irish inflation at 4.4 per cent compared to an EU average of 2.1 per cent.
Economists were disappointed with the inflation figures. Mr Austin Hughes, chief economist at IIB Bank, said the figures were concerning as Ireland's rising inflation rate is out of kilter with the international trend of falling prices.
Mr Hughes said that in many parts of the services sector, high inflation reflects the fact that the Irish economy has not yet adjusted to a post-boom setting. The second area relates to the impact of higher indirect taxes and public sector charges for a range of services which stem from on-going difficulties in managing the public finances.
"The detail of today's inflation data suggests a very pronounced divergence between domestic and overseas forces acting on Irish inflation. That divergence is unlikely to be sustainable without significant costs to this economy in what remains a gloomy international environment," Mr Hughes concluded.