What's so terrible about being advised to shop around, eh?

WITH a net income of about €1,000 a week, TD Seán Fleming was unfortunate to be compared to the imperious Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France during the French Revolution, when his solution to our economic woes was to ‘shop around’.

There is no historical evidence that Marie Antoinette ever said ‘let them eat cake’. The original phrase that she is supposed to have said was ‘let them eat brioche.’

Brioche, a rich bread made with eggs and butter, is not as fancy as cake, but the point of the tale is still the same. It reveals a leader completely out of touch with her peasant populace.

Seemingly, folklore scholars have found similar tales in other parts of the world. These are stories of rulers or aristocrats that live in ivory towers, clueless about the realities of their subjects’ straitened lives.

What will historians, in decades to come, make of Seán’s perceived faux pas? The context, according to the TD, was in relation to opposition TDs who have complained about what is - and isn’t - being done about the high cost of living. “If you move around, you can get better prices and that’s in our own hands,” he said.

And he’s quite right. 

Why get on your high horse about seeking out better value than what you’re currently being charged for energy and fuel? Surely, we have always shopped around.

We know that Lidl and Aldi are cheaper than the main supermarkets here. So we trot off to them and are sometimes charged almost 40% less than what we’d shell out in other outlets.

I get such good value in my local Aldi that I resent the cost of a shopping bill from other stores. But the presence of the cheap German supermarkets is good for competition. Tesco has been advertising prices for some foods that compare favourably to Aldi and Lidl.

Say what you like about Michael O’Leary, but if it wasn’t for Ryanair, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to fly relatively cheaply.

When Aer Lingus had a stranglehold on foreign travel, it was outrageously expensive. Me and my friends took the boat to England as students because we simply couldn’t afford to fly.

Try saying that to today’s young ones, booking flights with the click of a mouse that definitely don’t break the bank.

That said, flights have gone up in price. But if you’re savvy and search online , you can pick up a bargain. It’s another case of shopping around.

Are we so sensitive that being advised to seek out better value constitutes an uncaring response to the tumultuous market?

Granted, when your weekly wage is a four figure sum, after tax, you’re on the pig’s back. But even Seán Fleming, who is very comfortably set up, has changed providers of utilities and does the weekly shop for his home.

“The best thing to do is if you need to change your supermarket, change your supermarket,” he said, stating the blindingly obvious.

I will admit that an aversion to hanging on the phone, interminably, to try and change health insurance, for example, means I just don’t bother. The recorded messages or the music being played raises my blood pressure.

There is the option to make the switch online. But I tend to want to speak to a human being with some very specific questions. I’m a bit old fashioned, like that.

However, I nearly blew a gasket when I got my gas bill a couple of weeks ago.

With fuel prices increased by about 30%, I’ve resorted to wearing more jumpers because having the heat on all the time is not sustainable. It’s only a matter of time before I’ll start wearing fingerless gloves to type on my laptop, providing a modicum of warmth!

A friend, who is quite poor and works from home, says she spends a lot of time in bed, to save on heating bills. Is it for this that people labour?

How will my impoverished friend benefit from the Government measures to address the increased cost of living?

It seems crazy that the likes of the extremely well-heeled Michael O’Leary will get an energy rebate of €200.

He and the other rich citizens of Ireland don’t need these band-aids.

Wouldn’t it make more sense for a higher rebate to be means tested so that the people who really need help get it and the really comfortable-off classes suck up current prices?

The Society of St Vincent de Paul said the Government should have used the resources in a more targeted way to benefit the needy.

The cost-of-living package will only cover less than 25% of price hikes this year.

We really should shop around. After all, it’s stark to be faced with a choice between food or heat.