Country Living with Francis Farragher

Will it become a reality over the coming winter month – the price of petrol and diesel shooting up or above the €2 per litre mark?

Those ‘in the know’ on energy price trends seem to think that the €2 a litre will be at least seriously threatened over the coming months, as all the Government duties, which were eased during the price peaks following the start of the war in Ukraine, are reintroduced.

There’s nearly a guilt complex now if you complain about diesel or petrol prices going up. The standard line is that we should all be going electric, using public transport, and nearly bringing the horse-and-cart back into action.

A breaking point though is being reached with rural communities who have little choice but to rely on their trusted Corolla or Focus to make life reasonably bearable in areas where buses don’t fly by every two hours.

The hundreds of thousands of people who live in rural Ireland are not fanatical climate change deniers but rather ordinary people who have to bring their children to and from school every day; bring elderly parents for hospital and medical appointments; pick up the kids from under-age training; or respond to some family emergency.

For most of those people the financial realities of switching to an electric powered car are prohibitive. A young couple trying to pay off a mortgage, raising a family, and hoping to enjoy some of the basic comforts of life, just don/t have that fifty grand to spend on electric power.

If we all lived in tight little village hubs, towns or cities served by a comprehensive public transport system, then the question could validly be posed as to why you would need a car in the first place.

There is apparently, according to the energy nerds, something of a perfect storm blowing up in terms of energy prices fuelled by increasing demand, the return of the suspended excise duties and a decision by the Saudis and their allies to cut oil production.