Time to increase our taxes

Madam, – We now know officially that Ireland has been through a 10-year period of excessive public spending, against all advice…

Madam, – We now know officially that Ireland has been through a 10-year period of excessive public spending, against all advice. Private spending was pretty much in tune with that. There are no quick fixes that are sustainable, so Ireland is now facing a 10-year period of austerity.

As an avid radio listener, I hear harrowing tales of people having their electricity cut off, their blind pensions reduced, or being forced into emigration. And then comes the commercial break, with ads for Beamers, Volvos and luxury cruises, albeit at reduced prices. Could there be any better symbol of social inequities in the country? The EU cannot remedy such inequalities; the Irish will have to tackle the problem for themselves.

Irish taxes must be raised to realistic levels, not for the sake of the EU, but for Ireland itself. Taxes must respond to reality and must be sufficient to sustain the social and other needs of the country. That will result in severe problems for the economy in the short term, as many have pointed out, but there are no short-term solutions to long-term problems. It will be a long haul back. It is my hope that the new coalition be driven by a sense of realism. – Yours, etc,

GERARD MONTAGUE,

Zaumberg,

Immenstadt,

Germany.