8/1 The Front Pages

Happy Saturday, already the second one of 2011.

We’re just eight days into a new year, and it’s not taken long for the Christmas cheer to become a distant memory. There’s some snow on the ground again for a good part of the country and a lot of people’s minds have turned to financial concerns.

Not least in the case of VHI members, who, understandably, are not well pleased that they face massive hikes on their private health insurance policies. “Furious VHI members jam call centres” roars the headline across the front page of today’s Irish Examiner.

Not surprisingly, people wanted to know how to avoid the hikes of between 15 percent and 45 percent as announced by VHI on Thursday. For some policy holders, that means an extra €1,000 on their annual bill.

In what is the first of many understatements we can expect in the year ahead from cornered representatives of crippled Irish organisations, a VHI spokesperson admitted that its call centres were ‘busy’.

Meanwhile, VHI chief executive Jimmy Tolan has stated the bleedin’ obvious by saying that the insurer expects to lose customers as a result of the price hike, which takes effect from 1 February. Further loses to its customer base would come on top of the 47,000 who quit VHI in 2010.

The Health Insurance Authority’s website crashed twice on Friday as people sought to compare policies. More than 200 policies can be contrasted at www.hia.ie.

Over on The Irish Times, the main story comes courtesy of Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan, who said on Friday night that the measures agreed in the EU-IMF bailout package were open to change in the years ahead.

It comes following a statement from Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan, who suggested that terms of the €85 billion bailout could possibly be renegotiated.

It doesn’t sound as if we’ll be able to renegotiate the size, speed and interest rates of the mega-loan, however. Rather, it’s the case that the government can bring changes to where the savings are made as long as they end up having the same impact on State finances.

Both the Times and the Irish Independent include details of the collapse of business tycoon Jim Mansfied’s Citywest empire.

“Tycoon’s empire in ruins with debt of €192m” is the headline on Saturday’s Independent.

Mansfield’s company has gone into liquidation, leaving a trail of massive debts. More than 400 companies are owed huge sums, as well as well-known golfer Christy O’Connor Jnr.

Some of the bigger creditors face going out of business as a result.

Yet again, it seems the man responsible will not be personally liable for debts thanks to the complicated corporate structure of his business. Ironically, the legal and financial firms who helped him set up this arrangement may face big problems getting the money they’re now owed for their advice.

Mansfield’s personal wealth was estimated to be in the region of €420 million in 2007.

Bank of Scotland Ireland is owed €140m, Irish Nationwide Building Society is owed €11.6m and Saggart-based building contractor Swift Concepts is owed €23m.