Irish Examiner view: Political hopes rest on natural gas

Europe’s deepening energy crisis could become the first major challenge of 2022 forcing Covid-19 from its top billing

The Government has limited choices: Let prices rip or cap the level of rises and apply a subsidy. File picture

The eye-watering increases in energy costs, particularly gas, brandished at Irish consumers are not going to prove amenable to national solutions because they are being driven overwhelmingly by geopolitical considerations beyond our influence. The Government has limited choices: Let prices rip or cap the level of rises and apply a subsidy.

The consequence of not intervening is that it will supercharge inflationary pressures as wage demands rise to match unforeseen expenditure. And it will reduce discretionary spending as families and individuals pull in their horns with consequences for economic performance.