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Election handouts and auction politics

Another cycle of mismanaged government short-termism

Letters to the Editor. Illustration: Paul Scott
The Irish Times - Letters to the Editor.

Sir, – Like everyone else, I am feeling the impact of inflation. Do I need an electricity cost subsidy? Luckily, I don’t. Why are the subsidies not targeted to the people who do actually need them?

How can we trust a political party that last month told us they could not support a reduction in VAT for the hospitality sector and now offers the very same VAT reduction as an incentive to vote it back into power? Do they think we are idiots? Why would anybody choose to vote for a party with giveaways policies that has proven incapable of managing the principal economic issues of the Irish people over the last three government cycles?

The Irish economy moves in cycles and will be massively impacted by the major global economies. We now finally have a rainy day fund. It should not be spent on short-term fixes for the areas of the economy mismanaged by the current and previous governments. The current boom in corporation tax receipts will come to an end some day, and we should prepare for that event. Ireland will need tax rises to manage future spending requirements on housing, health and other day to day spending.

We need honest policies and politicians who recognise and discuss the future economic cycles and how they will impact the Irish people.

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We do not need childish political handouts or another cycle of mismanaged government short-termism. – Yours, etc,

PHILIP BOYLAN,

Killiney,

Co Dublin.