Cost of living: Price of stamps and stout set to increase from next month

The prices of a stamp and a pint of stout are set to climb from the start of next month, adding to the escalating cost of living in Ireland.

An Post has announced that it plans to increase the price of a standard stamp by 10 cent to €1.35, while Diageo said it would add 12 cent on to the price of its beers from February 1st, a move which will raise the price of a pint of Guinness to more than €5.30.

Both An Post and Diageo have blamed higher input costs for the price hikes, which they said were unavoidable. An Post said the 8 per cent increase was in line with 2022 inflation.

The new stamp prices reflect sustained transport, fuel and energy cost inflation and the true cost of maintaining a nationwide postal service as traditional letter volumes continue to fall, An Post said.

How does a 6 cent increase in the price of a pint by Guinness become a 30 cent increase by publicans?

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The increases come as Bord Bia publishes research into the impact that the cost of living crisis has had on the sentiment and spending power of consumers in Ireland and other countries, including the UK, Germany and the US.

In the study, conducted just before Christmas, almost 70 per cent of Irish people said they were worse off than at the same time in 2021, while close to two-thirds expressed fear that their personal finances would be more stretched in 2023.

As inflation continues to hit people’s spending, 61 per cent of people globally said they were worse off when compared with last year, with 56 per cent believing things will be worse in 2023.

The negative outlook was more pronounced in Ireland, with 69 per cent of Irish consumers saying they are worse off now than last year and 64 per cent saying that 2023 would be worse again, compared with just 33 per cent of Americans and 58 per cent of French consumers.

The research suggests that Irish people were also more pessimistic about the economic prospects for the State. Despite some signs that the inflation crisis may be easing, most people here think things are getting worse.

According to Bord Bia, 80 per cent of Irish people believe the economic situation here will disimprove over the next 12 months, compared with just 49 per cent in the US and 45 per cent in Germany.