The annual rate of inflation rose in December, driven by increases in prices in areas such as recreation and culture, and restaurants and hotels.
The Consumer Price Index climbed to 4.6% in the year to the end of December, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said.
That compares to 3.9% in the 12 months to November.
A flash estimate of the annual rate of inflation for December, published at the start of January, had predicted the rate would be around 3.2%.
Month on month, consumer prices rose by 0.5% between November and December.
The CSO said core inflation, which strips out energy and unprocessed food, rose by 5.8% in the year to December.
