Mr. Ultan Courtney:

It is a very good question because I would not like anyone to leave the meeting today thinking that there is only one focus, which is that inflation can have only one cause. It can be caused by many different factors, including supply-side shocks such as the oil crisis we had in the 1970s and the energy crisis at present. The hope is that something such as that is short, sharp and then ends. The concern is that will go on and we will continue to have an inflationary increase. That can continue to be exacerbated by prices and sometimes by people sometimes taking profits that are too high. Minister have referred to that but I do not have evidence of it. I do not know whether that is happening, nor do I have evidence of it. That is an issue for Government, but the Deputy is quite correct. It would be wrong to leave here today and say it is all the fault of this group or that group; it is not. Inflation is invidious and insidious because once it gets into one part of the economy, it spreads and continues to spread and we have a real problem.