Inflation in the Irish economy was also running at around a 40 year high, but has eased slightly with a headline rate of 7.8 percent in January.
Food price inflation was also up though rising by 12.8 per cent on January last year.
The metrics are slightly better in Ireland than in the UK on recent figures - however housing , energy and food are areas of concern and obviously the mushroom sector is in no way immune to inflationary pressures.
