How dear oil is good news for Government

ISN’T is ironic that all Fianna Fáil could come up with from their holiday in Cavan was ‘social engagement.’ They want us all to get out there, get involved and talk to each other.

In the same week, with rising oil prices, various affected groups wanted to talk to them about the tax on fuels. The talk was short. Both Micheál Martin and Brian Cowen told us all to shop around.

Forgive me for stating the obvious to these two geniuses, but shopping around costs both time and the precious petrol at €1.30 a litre. Of course, neither Brian nor Micheál spends a moment shopping around for anything, so what would they know.

Curiously, the oil price rise is good news for both men. You see, for every €1 you put in your tank, they get 42 cent in tax and a further 21 cent in VAT. Taking the current €1.30 a litre, the real cost is actually 52 cent before tax. So, if your car takes €50 to fill, you are sending €30 of it directly to Micheál and Brian. As the price goes up, they get more. No wonder they do not want to debate the issue.

But maybe they got it right in Cavan. Perhaps we should get together and discuss things like this. We might come to the conclusion that these guys are so out of touch that when their lackeys come around our doors looking for votes at election time, we’ll be able to tell them to “shop around.”

John Mallon

5 Shamrock Grove

Mayfield

Cork