Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

If one looks at transport, telecommunications and even oil, our inflation rates are growing much more rapidly than those in Europe. There is no reason our transport and telecommunications costs should rise more rapidly than those in Europe. In the past 12 months, there has been a 15 cent increase in the price of a litre of petrol whereas there has been only a 9 cent increase elsewhere in Europe. Something is happening in Ireland which is not happening elsewhere in Europe. Let us not forget we got the tag of "rip off" and the Government carries some of the blame for that because it has allowed this inflationary spiral and fuelled it with Government take in those sectors. That is where the Minister stands accused. He needs to deal with this issue before it again becomes a live one and Ireland becomes the most expensive place in Europe.

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