Slower food price inflation might be making consumers less negative about living costs though, the report saysIrish consumers remain concerned about the uncertain economic outlook and the cost-of-living squeeze. The latest Credit Union consumer sentiment index was 61.2 last month, almost unchanged from the 61 rating reported for November. It was also by “some considerable distance below the near 30-year survey average of 83.6”, it said. At the same time, slower food price inflation might be making consumers marginally “less negative about living costs”, he said. “In circumstances where official inflation data released during the survey period showed a further pickup (from 3 per cent in October to 3.2 per cent in November), this result may appear slightly surprising,” Mr Hughes said.

Source: The Irish Times January 09, 2026 15:02 UTC