1/1 The Front Pages

Fianna Fáil are in debt, there are dodgy goings on at the Revenue and Bertie may not have widespread support if he plans to run for President.

Happy New Year! As you’d expect, all the broadsheets use pictures to depict the heralding in of 2011. Beyond that, it’s business as usual in newspaper land as the news refuses to have a day off this Saturday 1 January.

Fianna Fail might want to put 2010 behind them and start with a clean sheet as they hurtle towards a general election, but just a few hours into the new year and The Irish Times is leading with the story that the party don’t even have a clean balance sheet.

“Fine Gael has €2.25m for election but FF in deep debt: Fianna Fáil sources claim that the party owes €3million” reads The Times’ main headline.

Fine Gael can draw on €1million from their recent superdraw. Fianna Fáil’s superdraw back in March raised just under €600,000, but that’s just not enough to plug the financial hole they’re in.

On a positive note, the number of road deaths for 2010 was the lowest since records began. December’s tally of 10 deaths was the lowest for five decades.

Of course, this can only be a positive story once that figure gets down to zero.

Over on the Irish Independent there’s news that Gardai are investigating Revenue officials after internal audits uncovered evidence that they falsified individual tax records and defrauded the State.

According to the Indo, two officials – both of whom have access to details of every tax payer in the country – are being looked into. One of them falsified receipts so that friends, her boyfriend and his family could claim refunds on non-existent medical conditions.

Another official actually hiked up his ex-wife’s tax liability, which is a bit harsh (although we don’t know what the ex-wife is like).

The Irish Examiner leads with news that swine flu cases are on the increase, with 34 people currently hospitalised, five of those in intensive care. Out of a total of 120 confirmed influenza cases that were notified on 30 December, 106 of these were cases of swine flu.

They also say that after Bertie Ahern's announcement that he'll not run for the Dáil in 2011, groups from across Irish society have been coming out in quite some number to say that if he now concentrates on running for President, they won't support him.

The paper features a picture of the Sydney skyline as fireworks lit up the New Year.