Landline telephones, digital cameras and Swiss rolls are no longer commonly purchased items among Irish households, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has decided, removing them from the 'national basket' used to calculate inflation.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is used to measure of inflation, takes a sample of hundreds of goods and services typically purchased by households, noting how their costs rise or fall from one period to the next.
The increase in the prices of those goods and services is how inflation is measured, and shows how consumers' purchasing power decreases due to inflation.
The goods and services chosen to determine the CPI is known as the 'national basket', and the CSO keeps these items under review to ensure they best reflect the actual spending habits of Irish households.
As part of the latest update to the national basket, landline telephones, digital cameras, Swiss rolls, and nightclub admissions were some of the items removed, marking them as purchases of days gone by.
In their place, disposable e-cigarettes, smart watches, gin, air fryers, and milk and meat substitutes were added.
The CSO said there are now 612 goods and services monitored to calculate the State's CPI.
