Cheaper motoring is the last thing world needs

PAUL O’RIAIN writes claiming tax on diesel and petrol is driving inflation up.

However, in real terms (allowing for inflation) taxes have been decreasing. The price of oil has doubled in the last year, and it is this which is driving up the price.

The government has been spending up to €10 billion a year on roads. However, most of the costs are externalised; it has recently been revealed that the real number of road casualties, based on hospital admissions, is three and a half times the figures claimed by the RSA/AA/Garda. The public health costs due to pollution and global warming are astronomical too.