January
The year starts with some grim news for would-be house buyers with a report from daft.ie suggesting that house prices across the Republic climbed by an average of 9 per cent in 2024. The research also suggests that fewer second-hand homes were on the market at the end of 2024 than at any point since the platform began publishing housing data in 2007.
Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States with the threat of tariffs and higher prices looming large.
Storm Éowyn crashes into Ireland leaving well over 600,000 homes, businesses and farms without power and many without access to cash or goods as a result of failing credit and debit card terminals and ATM machines.
A report from the liquidators of Dublin company DK Windows and Doors suggests hundreds of customers are facing significant financial losses with the amounts at risk reaching up to €50,000 for some customers.
VHI Healthcare announces an average price increase of 3 per cent across its health insurance plans effective from the beginning of March. The State’s largest private health insurer says the hike was “necessary due to the sustained rise in the number of people accessing healthcare and the associated costs of delivering this.”
The European Central Bank (ECB) cuts its rates by 0.25 per cent. It equates to a €13 per month saving for every €100,000 owed on a tracker mortgage. It is just the latest in a sequence of cuts over a six-month period that has seen the ECB’s lending rate fall to 2.9 per cent compared with 4.5 per cent in January 2024.
February
The economic outlook for Ireland is “increasingly uncertain” with the rise of protectionism and the threat of tariffs from the Trump administration posing a significant risk, the Department of Finance warns.
[ Have Irish property prices reached their peak? Five experts give their takeOpens in new window ]
Revenue calls on more than half a million PAYE workers to claim refunds they are due and stresses it actively wants to ensure money owed to people for tax reliefs including rent, mortgages and health expense are paid to those entitled to it. According to Revenue, close to €400 million in tax rebates went unclaimed by PAYE workers over the course of 2023 with the cumulative total over the last four years – the time period over which tax rebates can still be sought as much as €1.2 billion.
Re-turn, the not-for-profit operator of the Deposit Return Scheme in Ireland announces that one billion bottles and cans have been returned for recycling by Irish consumers in the first 12 months of the new system.
Re-turn CEO, Ciaran Foley, demonstrates the recycling system for plastic bottles. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd
A new front in the war on scammers is announced with communications watchdog ComReg promising a text-messaging register that will more easily flag and then block rogue SMS messages.
Retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel put grocery inflation at 3.4 per cent which is slightly lower than the previous month.
Thirteen illegal operators of so-called dodgy boxes are served with legal notices warning them to shut down illicit streaming services or face possible criminal prosecution. The action is taken by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (Fact) and marks the start of a ramping up of the campaign against the boxes that are found in hundreds of thousands of Irish households.
Laya Healthcare announces a price hike averaging 6.6 per cent from the beginning of April. The second largest health insurance provider in the State blames higher claims costs and says waiting lists in the public system are pushing people towards private healthcare, which is leading to prices climbing.
The British fashion chain New Look announces the closure of its 26 shops in the Republic after deciding the business here is no longer viable with debts of €17.7 million.
March
Scammers target more than three-quarters of Irish adults with bogus text messages, emails, calls or online content every month, research finds. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA Wire
The ECB announces another rate cut of 0.25 per cent which takes its lending rate to 2.65 per cent compared with 4.5 per cent 12 months previously.
Consumer law was potentially broken by more than half the websites selling second-hand products that were investigated during an exercise involving the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and its European counterparts. They found that 52 per cent of 356 websites across the Continent selling second-hand goods, such as clothes, accessories and electronics, were potentially breaking consumer law. The exercise focused on businesses selling second-hand goods as distinct from individuals selling on classified advert platforms.
Retailers Lifestyle Sports, DID Electrical and Rathwood Home and Garden World plead guilty to breaches of sale price legislation at a District Court hearing in Dublin. The CCPC took the cases against the retailers after breaches were identified in online sweeps conducted over the 2023/24 winter sales season, including Black Friday. They are the first prosecutions under sales pricing legislation introduced in 2022 which requires traders to base any discount on the lowest price in at least the previous 30 days, and to display this price clearly on any price tag or advertisement.
Scammers are targeting more than three-quarters of Irish adults with bogus text messages, emails, phone calls or online content every month, according to new research. The study from the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland also suggests that the level of scams is on the rise, and warns that the deployment of generative AI technology has the potential to “supercharge” fraudulent activity.
Grocery prices are inching up again with inflation across Irish supermarkets put at just under 4 per cent when compared with the same period last year, figures from Worldpanel suggest.
[ Only top 20% of Irish earners can afford to rent an apartment, surveyors sayOpens in new window ]
Ticketmaster, Eir and Ryanair were the three companies that prompted most complaints to the CCPC last year. More broadly, issues with vehicles and transport, telecoms and home improvements topped the list of concerns from those who contacted the consumer watchdog. The number of complaints lodged with the financial ombudsman jumped sharply in 2023 with poor levels of customer service and a surge in scams driving much of the increase, a new report reveals.
Amazon opens its dedicated Irish platform with the tech and retailing giant promising more choice, faster delivery and better value to Irish consumers.
April
Easter eggs are likely to cost up to 50 per cent more this year than they did last year, Which? suggests. Photograph: Getty Images
The 9 per cent VAT rate currently applied to gas and electricity is extended for a further six months until the end of October meaning the rate will not return to its normal level of 13.5 per cent on May 1st as had been scheduled. It gets further extended in the October budget.
The British consumer watchdog Which? suggests that Easter eggs are likely to cost up to 50 per cent more this year than they did last year with many eggs considerably smaller than they once were.
Another rate decrease from the ECB sees its lending rate fall to 2.4 per cent.
M&S is targeted by hackers with contactless payments and click-and-collect orders severely impacted. It expresses the hope that the issue will be quickly revolved but it drags on for months.
May
Smokers pay tens of thousands of euro more for life insurance and mortgage protection than non-smokers, research finds. Photograph: Getty Images
Rents are climbing faster than at any point over the past 20 years with the national monthly average between January and March going above €2,000 for the first time, according to daft.ie.
Boots pleads guilty to breaching legislation aimed at protecting consumers from misleading prices during sales periods following an investigation by the CCPC.
Smokers pay tens of thousands of euro more for life insurance and mortgage protection than non-smokers, according to research from price comparison and switching website bonkers.ie.
For mortgage protection – a legal requirement for anyone taking out a mortgage in Ireland – a 38-year-old couple can pay as little as €35.60 a month for €300,000 in cover over 30 years as long as they’re both non-smokers. However, if they both smoke, the cost jumps to €70.09 – an increase of almost 97 per cent, or nearly €12,500 over the life of the policy.
[ Inflation explainer: why are prices in Ireland accelerating again?Opens in new window ]
June
The cost of groceries is climbing faster, with figures from Worldpanel suggesting a rate of inflation of 5.3 per cent.
Irish farmers welcome tentative moves by the European Parliament to restrict “cynical” vegetarian and vegan food producers from using words such as sausage, burger and schnitzel to sell their products. The “hijacking” of traditional farming terms was “deliberate and cynical” and could constitute “a breach of any trade descriptions Act”, says Irish Creamery and Milk Supplier’s Association (ICMSA) president Denis Drennan.
Someone in Cork wins a €250 million EuroMillions jackpot.
Ireland is the second most expensive country in the European Union with only Danes expected to pay more for a range of goods and services Eurostat says.
A €250 million EuroMillions jackpot is won by someone in Cork in May. Photograph: Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The rules covering uniforms, supplies and technology put in place by many schools could be needlessly increasing costs for parents while harming competition across the education sector, the CCPC warns in a letter to primary and post-primary schools.
The increasing cost of motor insurance premiums is laid bare with the Central Statistics Office (CSO) suggesting premiums have climbed by 8.4 per cent over 12 months, more than four times the general rate of inflation.
Airline passengers travelling to and from Ireland and across the EU will lose some key rights when it comes to flight delays due to changes to the regulations governing air travel agreed by the European Union Council. People will only be able to apply for compensation for short and medium-haul flights delayed for over four hours while and six hours for long-haul flights.
July
It emerged that airline Ryanair offers staff commission if they identify oversized bags at boarding gates. Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Worldpanel records a 5.4 per cent rate of grocery inflation suggesting the cost of living crisis is worsening again.
It emerges that Ryanair offers staff commission if they identify oversized bags at boarding gates. The utterly unapologetic airline says that it has plans to increase the commission and lift a cap on how much its staff can earn.
Parents sending children back to school at the end of August will see a spike in associated costs, with one in three expected to go into debt and more than a third forced to deny their children at least one back-to-school item, according to the annual Irish League of Credit Unions’ back to school survey.
[ Ireland is second most expensive country in EU, data showsOpens in new window ]
Dominos becomes one of the first high-profile businesses in Ireland to have its marketing text messages labelled as likely spam following an overhaul of how such communications are managed. Under the new system aimed at protecting consumers from criminals misrepresenting themselves as legitimate businesses companies are required to register details of their SMS messaging on a database or risk having their communications initially flagged as suspect and ultimately blocked. Not all companies acted in time however leading some to be erroneously labelled as spam.
August
All the talk of dynamic ticket pricing is largely forgotten as Oasis perform in Dublin. Photograph: Dan Dennison/The Irish Times
Another month, another raft of health insurance price hikes.
VHI Healthcare announces an average price increase of 3 per cent across its health insurance plans, effective from the beginning of October. Irish Life Health increases its price by a similar percentage while Laya Healthcare roll out price hikes averaging 4.5 per cent.
The cost of groceries climbs again with supermarket inflation put at just under 6 per cent, or more than three times the rate of general inflation, according to Worldpanel.
Oasis roll into town with fans lining up to buy merch in a pop-up shop on St Stephen’s Green ahead of the band’s comeback concerts in Croker. All the talk of dynamic ticket pricing is largely forgotten as fans fall head over heels for the rock’n’roll stars all over again.
Ryanair, Eir and Sky were the companies most complained about in the first half of 2025 while Ticketmaster saw its ranking with Ireland’s consumer watchdog improve as those concerns over high-priced Oasis tickets last September faded away.
September
The DAA apologises and promises to issue refunds after overcharging thousands of customers for parking at Dublin Airport. Photograph: Getty Images
The Central Bank gives the green light for credit unions to issue more mortgages under previous rules, credit unions were allowed lend between 10 and 15 per cent of their assets for mortgages. From the end of this month it rises to 30 per cent of total assets.
More than one in four Irish adults have no financial plans for their retirement while the number without a private pension has increased significantly since last year, according to CCPC research.
Electric Ireland announces a surprise gas price decrease of 4 per cent and commits to keeping its electricity prices at their current levels ahead of the winter months. The pricing move comes less than 24 hours after Energia, one of its key rivals in the domestic market, rolled out electricity price increases of up to 12 per cent which will cost many households more than €200 a year. Bord Gáis Energy also hiked its electricity price hikes by 13.5 per cent.
The DAA apologises and promises to issue refunds totalling almost €350,000 after it overcharged thousands of customers for parking at Dublin Airport earlier this year. Almost 4,500 customers paid more for parking during two so-called flash sales in March and May than they would have when the parking spaces were not discounted.
October
The impact of Budget 2026 can best be described as minimal. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw/ The Irish Times
Fastway goes into receivership with its owners saying the “business has faced sustained inflation, rising operating costs and ongoing price pressures across the parcels market, which have made it no longer viable in its current form”. The move prompts immediate concerns over the future of 300 people who are employed directly by the company and around 700 contractors while thousands of parcels got caught up in its systems.
Worldpanel now puts the rate of grocery inflation at 6.5 per cent, the highest rate recorded since December 2023.
The main supermarkets in the State knock 10 cent off a two-litre container of milk, a move which is prompted by Lidl. It also promises a range of other cuts in the weeks ahead.
The impact of Budget 2026 can best be described as minimal. There were no tax changes or one of measures to speak of.
November
The cost of flights to Prague for Ireland’s winner-takes-all World Cup play-off against the Czech Republic in March spring start to take off. Photograph: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images
Irish Life Health announces another price increase averaging 5 per cent. It comes into effect from January 1st with the cumulative impact of multiple increases over recent months likely to see the cost of some policies jump by well over 10 per cent.
Bank of Ireland announces a new type of bridging finance to allow homeowners to trade up or down without first having to sell the home they live in.
Irish mobile phone and broadband customers could once more be allowed to shop around for better value mobile and broadband packages when price hikes are announced if proposed legislative changes get the green light.
The cost of flights to Prague for Ireland’s winner-takes-all World Cup play-off against the Czech Republic in March spring started to take off as soon as the draw was made. Some flights sold out within minutes and the price of others soared to close to €1,000 for a return journey. The airlines rush to add new flights to the route for the days in question but prices remain high.
There is no need for panic over potential turkey shortages caused by avian flu, and, while prices for the Christmas staple might climb this year, supply should not be an issue, butchers and retailers say.
Ryanair gets rid of paper boarding passes and pretty much everyone travelling with the airline has to use the digital pass that is sent to the Ryanair app on their smartphone.
December
The rate of grocery inflation stands at 6 per cent in December, according to Worldpanel. Photograph: Getty Images
More than one in five of those given vouchers as Christmas presents in the past have yet to use them, according to the CCPC.
The average health insurance premium is up 8 per cent since the beginning of 2025, according to the Health Insurance Authority.
Irish consumers will have to pay €3 charge on online orders valued at less than €150 in a bid to protect European retail businesses, following a vote by EU member states. The charge will be placed on small parcels – with low-cost platforms such as Temu and Shein in line to be hit most.
The reason for Ireland’s high electricity prices is “difficult to establish”, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) says. It notes that Irish electricity prices have fallen in the last two years, from their 2023 peak, but the decline has been less than in many other European countries.
Poor information and murky bidding are depressing the number homes sold in the Republic, a myhome.ie report finds. It also suggests many houses are selling at least 10 per cent over asking.
A proliferation of scam calls purporting to be from UK numbers is reported with some experts suggesting even answering the calls could put people at risk.
The last figures from the folk at Worldpanel put the rate of grocery inflation at 6 per cent – down slightly on the previous month but still high enough to put pressure on many Irish families as they head into Christmas.
Irish consumers faced climbing house prices, grocery price inflation and health insurance premiums