Sir, - Wouldn't it surprise the Commission if, in his next Budget, a suitably repentant Charlie McCreevy created negative inflation and refueled the "Tiger" at the same time?
It would certainly astonish our electorate if, after 30 years waiting, he decided to be a "good" European and at the stroke of his ministerial quill let us share the Community's mean excise duty (minus 40p per pint) and VAT rate (minus 5 per cent). If he felt the ensuing adulation to be insufficient he could go for canonisation by abolishing VRT as the derogatory tax that it is. - Yours, etc.,
John McGowan, Balbriggan, Co Dublin.