Vol. 567 No. 6
135 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the recent claims made by the president of IBEC that tens of thousands of jobs will be lost and untold damage caused to the economy if our rate of inflation is not urgently reduced; his views on the claims made; the proposals the Government has for specific measures to reduce the level of price increases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12265/03]
I share IBEC's concern as regards the relatively high rate of inflation in Ireland. However, the inflation rate is falling. The most recent CSO data show that the rate of inflation in Ireland in April, as measured by the CPI was 4.3% which represented the sharpest decline in the annual rate of inflation since January 2001. Strong services sector inflation has been the driving force behind Irish inflation. There are signs, however, that services sector inflation is beginning to moderate. In April, for instance, annual services sector inflation was 5.5%, compared to 6.2% in March and around 8% in the first half of 2002. Bringing our rate of inflation down towards that of our EU partners is a priority for the Government. This must be done to safeguard our competitiveness and avoid losing jobs. That is why the Government made the commitment in Sustaining Progress to work together with the social partners to exert downward pressure on inflation.
