New figures from the Central Statistics Office shows that prices were 0.3% lower in September compared with September of last year.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices fell by 0.5% in September from August, biggest monthly fall since January.

The CSO figures also show that the costs of transport fell by 5.5% on an annual basis due to lower petrol and diesel prices and reduction in the price of cars. However these drops were partially offset by an increase in bus or taxi fares.

Clothing and footwear fell by 4% due to sales n shops while the cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages fell by 2.2% due to lower prices across a range of products such as meat, bread, cereals and vegetables.

Education cost rose by 5% on an annual basis in September.

The costs of miscellaneous goods and services (things such as insurance, hairdressing, cosmetics and skincare products) also increased by 2.8% with a 26% jump in motor insurance premiums noted.