Have you noticed that traffic levels have built back up to those more akin to life pre-pandemic? While a “return to normality” is welcome in lots of areas, COP26 and the recent budget have reinforced how important our transportation and fuel choices are for our pockets and the planet.

For those who depend on their car, (which is pretty much all of rural Ireland) the recent fuel price rises will not have gone unnoticed. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the official measure of change in the price of consumer goods and services purchased by private households and is compiled by the CSO.

a basket of goods and services that cost €100 in 2020 cost €103.75 in 2021

The percentage change in the CPI from September 2020 to September 2021 was 3.7%. That means that a basket of goods and services that cost €100 in 2020 cost €103.75 in 2021. Inflation!

Many of our readers will remember that in 1975 inflation hit 21% in Ireland. So they may read this and think, “Inflation, that isn’t inflation, I can tell you a thing or two about inflation!” Since then, central banks have focused on curbing high inflation, aiming to maintain it at 2% annually and with that there has been no major increase in the EU (outside of the Celtic Tiger years) since the 1980s.

This September’s figure is actually the largest year-on-year increase in Ireland since 2008.

The September figures showed that food price inflation was negligible (0.3%) with transport (+11.4%), housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (+9.0%) the biggest contributors to the increase. However, it would appear that it is an employee’s market at the moment, (wages rose 3.9% in Q2 of 2021) with many skillsets in demand.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the workplace dynamic

With this and rumours of the “great resignation” (which suggests many people will move jobs post-pandemic in large numbers) circulating widely, this year’s Agri Jobs Focus, which traditionally gained insights from agri employers, is also asking employees for their views. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the workplace dynamic and the employee survey aims to gather important statistics to allow agri industry employers to cater for this changing market.

I am not a soccer fan but I knew who Marcus Rashford was ever before last summer’s Euro Championships debacle because of his work with charity

The survey can be found here. We would appreciate getting your perspective on where your career in the industry is going in 2022.

I am not a soccer fan but I knew who Marcus Rashford was ever before last summer’s Euro Championships debacle because of his work with charity. Rashford has been campaigning for school meals for disadvantaged children in the UK for some years now. Although food price inflation was negligible here, it has risen across the water. Rashford has called on MPs to recognise that this is “forcing struggling families to make tough decisions about their children’s diets”. Although analysts do not believe that inflation here will continue to rise, there are consequences which are generally felt by the most vulnerable in society.

I wish the delegates every success in their deliberations

With COP26 kicking off this week in Glasgow, every news channel is likely to report on how individual countries will implement changes to reverse the climate change impact. By the time COP27 comes around, how much change will we have seen in terms of how people fuel their cars or feed their children? I wish the delegates every success in their deliberations. So much depends on it.