Now that the inevitable has finally arrived, it is causing all sorts of alarm in the ranks. It is not as though there has been no warning of the likelihood of a jump in inflation - even if it was not quite expected to double in the space of just three months.

Ever since consumer borrowing took off in the wake of the economic boom, economists and central bankers have been warning of the dangers of inflation, particularly pay inflation.

True, when it finally arrived, pay inflation was not the problem. Still, it was somewhat sobering to note that, for all our new-found economic muscle, a central plank of the economy - the inflation target - can still be laid low by a simple rise in the price of oil.

One wonders what will happen when the full effects of Charlie McCreevy's giveaway Budget enter the equation.