The annual rate of inflation climbed to 1.4 per cent last month, a rise of 0.1 per cent on March, figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) this morning have shown.
It is the first rise in inflation in seven months.
Consumer prices in April, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), increased by 0.4 per cent compared to an increase of 0.3 per cent in the same month last year.
The EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices also increased by 0.4 per cent last month although this compares to an increase of 0.5 per cent in April 2003.
Year-on-year, the most notable changes the CPI shows are increases in the cost of health that climbed 6.2 per cent, education that rose 5.9 per cent, and alcohol and tobacco which climbed 3.7 per cent.
The price of food fell in April, notably the cost of potatoes, cakes and poultry.