Shane

Taxes are to governments what drink and drugs are to addicts: irresistibly attractive and, once hooked by, almost impossible to give up. Taxes in Ireland, by whatever name known: *Income tax—everybody’s favourite tax *USC (Universal Social Charge)—to be abolished any day now, any day now, any day now….. *PRSI (Pay Related Social Insurance)—the suspicion that the ‘P' in its acronym really stands for Ponzi is just right-wing conspiracy talk🧐 *VAT (Value Added Tax)—standard rate, a mere 23%, on money that you’ve usually already been taxed on *Corporation Tax *Capital Gains Tax—God forbid that you should make some money on the risks you take with your investments without the Government cutting itself in on the deal, without any risk *Capital Acquisitions Tax (death duties!; limits on gifts) *Stamp Duty *LPT (Local Property Tax)—just in case you’re not paying enough in your other taxes *Excise Duties—on petrol and alcohol, so that you don’t drink or drive) *Dividend Withholding Tax *DIRT (Deposit Interest Retention Tax)—the best ever acronym for a tax!

The protests in Ireland are not about just fuel! They are about the distance between Ireland on this graph and every other modern and developed economy. Ireland is second wealthiest but gets waaaaay less than any other country for that wealth. By a golden mile. That visual gap in this graph? That’s what people are protesting. It’s a lack of infrastructure and the everyday enshittification of services, the economy, and the additional difficulty of trying to live, relative to peers in any other country. It also highlights why people don’t get uniformly listened to! - because there is no government architecture to engage meaningfully across this huge gap. That gap is a three hour drive to work in traffic, a 14 month wait for an MRI, buses that don’t arrive, trains that don’t exist, schools that have no places for your kids, houses that are unaffordable, pubs that close before midnight, €12 sandwiches, expensive fuel. People feel this gap, even if they can’t explain it precisely. And that builds into resentment, and ultimately protest. Fuel just happened to be the next thing that could be pointed to, today.

Attacking those who are protesting is the wrong approach. Sadly, the cost of living has driven many to the edge financially. A build up of ordinary people under enormous financial pressure, not feeling the reward for their hard work and effort. We must and can do better. It’s time to get around a table and negotiate to put an end to disruption.

“This is a clear choice between democracy and anarchy.” Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon speaking about the ongoing fuel protests.