Irish building data · CSO WPM39
Building material prices in Ireland
Are building materials getting dearer? Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) tracks wholesale price changes; compare the trend with your own supplier quotes.
Latest month: August 2026 · CSO updated
All materials: annual price change
+3.3%
August 2026 against the same month a year earlier
0.0% over the previous month
131.1 price index · 2021 average = 100
Excludes VAT, labour and separately invoiced delivery. This is a materials trend, not a change in the total cost of a house.
See the materials table ↓An index of 131.1 means this mix of wholesale materials costs 31.1% more than its 2021 average. It is not a euro price or a supplier quote.
Two years of material prices
All-materials index, 2021 average = 100. The vertical scale starts at 120.
Biggest annual moves in our selection
Six largest changes among the 14 materials below, August 2026. Left of centre means a price fall over the past year.
Each bar starts at zero in the centre. Changes use the CSO’s published percentages.
Materials for a self-build
Each index measures a material against its own 2021 average. For example, reinforcing metal at 84.9 is 15.1% cheaper than its 2021 average; its annual change of +10.8% compares with August 2025. A higher index does not mean one material costs more euros than another.
| Material | Index 2021=100 | Annual change |
|---|---|---|
| Stone, sand and gravel | 140.8 | +5.2% |
| Cement | 143.4 | −7.8% |
| Ready mixed mortar and concrete | 161.6 | +7.6% |
| Concrete blocks and bricks | 135.7 | +4.1% |
| Reinforcing metal | 84.9 | +10.8% |
| Rough timber (including plain sawn) | 93.1 | +2.9% |
| Wooden windows and doors | 141.6 | +2.7% |
| Electrical fittings | 105.2 | −1.3% |
| Plumbing materials including sanitary ware | 127.3 | −0.8% |
| Heating and ventilation equipment | 110.6 | −2.3% |
| Insulating materials | 128.1 | +1.3% |
| Plaster | 146.3 | +0.5% |
| Paints, oils and varnishes | 146.1 | +9.2% |
| Glass | 116.0 | +4.0% |
| All materials | 131.1 | +3.3% |
“Rough timber” includes plain sawn wood; sanitary ware includes toilets and basins. These categories overlap, so do not add their indices or percentages together. The all-materials figure counts some materials more heavily than others, so you cannot work it out from these rows.
Download all months and material categories (CSV) · January 2021 to August 2026
The CSV includes published monthly and annual changes. Blank cells mean unavailable, never zero; two concrete subcategories have no published figures.
Cite these figures
Ireland’s CSO wholesale building-materials index was 131.1 in August 2026 (2021=100, excluding VAT), with a published annual change of +3.3%, according to table WPM39.
Source: Central Statistics Office, WPM39, updated 22 September 2026. Presentation: SelfBuildGuide.ie. CSO data is available under CC BY 4.0.
What this tracker measures
The CSO surveys transaction prices for materials bought by construction and civil-engineering firms, covering Irish-made and imported goods. The mix includes large and small contracts, so your builder’s or merchant’s quote can move differently.
Prices include agreed discounts or surcharges.
We use the CSO’s published index and monthly and annual percentage changes from table WPM39. Its base is the average of 2021, set to 100, rather than January 2021. Published changes can differ slightly from calculations using the rounded indices shown here.
This page uses CSO data dated 22 September 2026. We check for new figures on the 28th of each month. If the latest CSO release is newer, use its figures when citing. The CSO can revise past figures; this page and the CSV use the same release.
See the CSO’s background notes for its method, its reuse policy and our editorial policy for corrections.
Use the trend to check your budget
If a supplier’s quote has changed, ask what changed and what is included. Check how long the quote remains valid and what delivery and VAT add. Use the self-build cost calculator to allow for construction, site works, fees and the other parts of your budget.
For another view of building activity, see single-house completions by county.