The rising cost of health care, education, food and other basic provisions is eroding people's quality of life, unions and the Opposition warned today.
CSO figures show inflation peaked at 4.8 per cent in February - its highest rate in four months, with food prices jumping more than 8 per cent, health 5.7 per cent, education 5.9 per cent and electricity 12 per cent in the last year.
Ictu and Siptu said many people could no longer cope with the price hikes, while Opposition politicians condemned the Government's handling of the economy.
"The renewed rise in inflation is extremely worrying, especially as the greatest increases affected health and food costs," Siptu general secretary Joe O'Flynn said. "These increases impact hardest on people with low to middle incomes, especially working families with children."
Ictu economic adviser Paul Sweeney, who said the public could no longer budget for constant monthly price increases for basic commodities.
"Food and fuel products account for 20 per cent of average consumer spending. And these price rises impact disproportionately on those on lower incomes."
The CSO figures reveal February's inflation rate jumped from 4.3 per cent in January and was the highest rate since November when it peaked at 5 per cent.
Labour's Consumer Affairs spokesman, Senator Brendan Ryan, said the upward drift in prices of foodstuffs 8.5 per cent over the past year "is particularly worrying as this impacts most severely on low income families."
Fine Gael finance spokesman Richard Bruton criticised Minister for Finance Brian Cowen for what he called his "sloppy" handling of the economy, which he said "has exposed Ireland to the risk of stagflation, a lethal combination of a stagnant economy and rising inflation".