Contra Bart, i got a 40 cent rebate on my card (BoI, and not sure what it was for). Yay! It makes all the pain go away. On the budget,I see this one -and the threats implied by future bludgets – as a complete mishandling of the banking/ fiscal crisis. Principally, there was no economic stimulus, which would have given some hope, light at end of tunnel or whatever. A good measure would have been a car scrappage scheme, which is a win-win for the govt politically and economically/fiscally.

The outcome of the govt’s ineptitude will, however, potentially lead to a political sea-change IMO, if the opposition can generate some novel ideas rather than just oppose the sneaky snakes. While Lenihan has announced the Levies are to be made permanent, Labour should focus on poverty as an issue. I’m thinking this govt won’t last long anyhow,for some strange reason, wilderness is so appealing when you’ve lost the plot guys, isn’t it? While the FF monolith might collapse in an ugly way, it is clear to me that they are not pursuing relevant politics/ policies for the 21st century and it will need a new generation of leadership to change their tack (a la UK Tories).

I’ll watch the video nasty in the morning Suzy!

http://budget.gov.ie/2009SupApril09/FinancialStatement.html

“The Government expects to see reductions of about 10% in energy costs for electricity and gas consumers by September. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources will be seeking ways to lower costs further on an ongoing basis.”