There are times when it is hard not to feel sorry for the Minister for Finance. Presiding over the most sustained period of economic growth in the history of the State, you would think he could take the plaudits and plan his upcoming Budget with a certain relaxed air to maximise electoral advantage for the Government.

Instead, he looks increasingly besieged by the fractious social partners on the one hand and the economic worthies at home and abroad on the other. The fact that his Department has singularly failed to produce a reliable forecast for Government revenue or economic growth hardly helps.

Still at least he thought there was light at the end of the tunnel. Intervention to support the floundering euro looked set to tackle one of the more intractable inflationary influences he faced and news that the US was releasing emergency reserves of oil was enough to persuade OPEC and the markets that there was little point attempting to inflate prices for crude, another factor upsetting his figures this year.

The descent of the Middle East into conflict this week put paid to hopes for a period of stability for external influencing factors. Crude has leapt to highs of $35 not seen since the Gulf War and a multiple of what it was this time last year. Maybe Charlie would be better pencilling in something on the capital side of the Budget to accelerate research into alternative sources of energy.