Eamon Ryan has shown his true colours as an ideological politician. The Green Party’s energy minister signalled that whatever damage is done to the lives of Irish people by the rising cost of fuel, he would never, ever intervene to help ease the burden on ordinary people.

The reason is simple, Eamon is an ideological green and that means that for him, theory is more important that practice.

Minister Ryan was pushed into making a statement of intent in the Dáil last week when Fine Gael argued the case for a one per cent drop in the VAT rate to make life easier for hard-pressed families in the face of rocketing fuel prices and other associated costs.

Minister Ryan’s response was worrying for those who are facing financial hard times. He dismissed the suggestion out of hand, not because it was unworkable or for economic reasons, put for ideological reasons.

There can be no intervention in terms of the cost of fuel according to Minister Ryan because Ireland has to drastically reduce the amount of fossil fuels we use. The later point is true and you will not find many people who would disagree with it, be it for environmental or economic reasons.

Unfortunately though, we are probably a couple of decades at least, away from a time when more than half our energy needs can be generated from other sources. This begs the question: What about the thousands of ordinary people who are suffering right now?

Such intransigence is very worrying and displays a kind of blind allegiance to an idea that has been seen in the very worst political systems of the past.

Politics should ALWAYS be about the people. In time, with a lot of investment and improvements in technology, Minster Ryan’s vision of a greener future may be close to reality but today it is a million miles away.

The fact is that the vast majority of people in Ireland right now have to use petrol or diesel, often not just for their cars but for their businesses too. Life for hauliers, fishermen, taxi-drivers and many others is becoming very difficult indeed. These people need a helping hand and Minster Ryan and his colleagues surely must realise it. In the long run, he is right but in the short-term he couldn’t be more wrong. It is help people need in hard times, not lectures.

China already subsidises the fuel its people use while many nations in Europe may be forced to act in the face of militant public protests. The tax-take from fuel for cars in Ireland is enormous (about 60 per cent). With what many analysts are now predicting as the “1970s, only worse” staring us in the face it is time to do all we can to protect the Irish economy and make it more, not less competitive.

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