Happy New Year...

Every private home in Ireland will receive €100 credit towards their first electricity bill of 2022, with new Government plans to be formally announced in the coming days. According to the Irish Examiner, all two million homes in Ireland, regardless of income, will receive the credit as the Government looks to address the steady rise in energy costs. The measure represents a €200 million cost for the Department of Energy, as overseen by Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan. It is understood that the €100 credit will apply only to domestic bills and that commercial premises may not avail of the discount. The news follows confirmation that Ireland's annual rate of inflation has reached its highest point in over 20 years. The rate increased to 5.3% in November, representing the largest annual change in prices since June 2001, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). In the area of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, inflation rose mainly due to higher rents and mortgage interest repayments and an increase in the cost of electricity, home heating oil and gas. Within this category, electricity and gas prices are listed as rising by 20.9% and 26.2% respectively. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme on Friday, Professor Neil Gibson, chief economist with EY Ireland, noted that the current trend is unlikely to significantly decrease in the future. "There is a narrative that inflation is something temporary and will be gone as soon as it arrives but we believe that inflation will continue to be with us for a little while longer," he said. Asked when inflation rates will level out, Gibson said that they should begin to steady during spring of 2022 but could rise again in both summer and particularly in winter, given the need to utilise more fuel and energy during this period.