Sort out budget

It would be ludicrous to mortgage your house to pay for your groceries (although, the way prices are increasing, this might become necessary) or to cash in your savings to pay for petrol.

In the same way, it’s crazy for the Minister for Finance to try to use once-off sources of income, like raiding the pension fund, advancing the date for corporation tax payment and old punts not redistributed as euro, to pay for general spending.

Capital income sources like these should be used for capital expenditure only.

The government needs to sort out its books quickly, before all the balls that Mr McCreevy has been juggling fall to the ground.

Thomas Ralph,

7 Hazelwood Drive,

Glanmire,

Co Cork.