Economy-Finance

PRESS DIGEST – Ireland – Oct 17

 DUBLIN, Oct 17 (Reuters) - These are some of the leadingstories in Ireland's newspapers on Friday. Reuters has notverified these stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy:

 THE IRISH TIMES

 - The government attempted to defuse the controversy overmedical card entitlement last night by raising the eligibilitythresholds.- The government has agreed to consult the legal service ofthe EU's Council of Ministers to explore the type and draftingof opt-outs and declarations that could make the Lisbon Treatypalatable to the Irish public.

 - The Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority hasinstructed accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers to assess theextent to which the banks are delaying the collection ofinterest payments on loans to builders and property developers.

 IRISH INDEPENDENT

 - Most of the 140,000 pensioners affected by thecontroversial budget measures will still lose out on a fullover-70s medical card, despite an embarrassing governmentclimbdown last night.

 - Outspoken Fianna Fail backbencher Noel O'Flynn last nightclaimed voters were turning against the party because of the"badly handled" proposal to radically overhaul medical cards.

 - Top executives at the 11 banks seeking to avail of thestate's 500 billion euro ($673.8 billion) bank guarantee begannumber crunching yesterday on what they can expect to pay tojoin the scheme.

 IRISH EXAMINER

 - Pressure intensified on ministers to abandon means testingfor over-70s' medical cards last night after the move wasbranded an "act of cruelty".

 - The number of public service employees soared by 7,500 toa total of 373,100 in the past year, with the annual pay billrising by almost 700 million euros, despite repeated governmentpledges to cut costs.

 - Aer Lingus (AERL.I: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said it has no immediate plans tolower its fuel surcharges despite a significant decline in theprice of oil.

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