The Irish Independent reports that ministers were last night struggling to quell a growing backlash against cuts to welfare benefits for lone parents and the unemployed.

Senior figures in Government were also livid after the minister in charge botched the handling of the announcement. Instead of putting the focus on the Government's plans for job creation, Taoiseach Brian Cowen was left to deal with a wave of outrage over the welfare reforms.

A major economic speech by Mr Cowen was overshadowed by the controversy caused by Social Protection Minister Eamon O Cuiv's bungled effort to outline the changes. Under the plans, payments for single parents will be cut off when their youngest child reaches the age of 13, but this change to the allowance will be phased in over six years. Unemployed people will lose their dole payments if they turn down a reasonable offer of a job and their benefits will be reduced if they turn down a training place.

Mr O Cuiv was unable to say yesterday how much would be saved by the changes as he did not have the figures available.

The fallout from the changes is expected to spill over into the Dail tomorrow and at the weekly meeting of Fianna Fail TDs with ministers.

Representative groups for single parents said they had been inundated with queries from concerned members, even though the changes will not affect most of those already in receipt of the payment.

The benefit cut was announced by the minister's department after 5pm on Friday. Defending his handling of the situation, Mr O Cuiv admitted his press release did not go into the detail of the change. "There was no effort on our part not to give the information," he said.

The minister said the change was aimed at encouraging lone parents to return to the workforce and would not take effect for a number of years.

Government sources said the proposed changes had been in the pipeline for the past four years and had been teed up by each of the three previous ministers in the department.

But there was anger and disappointment in Fianna Fail with the way in which Mr O Cuiv handled the announcement.

After Mr O Cuiv's PR failure, Mr Cowen ended up having to clarify the proposals at a Fianna Fail conference where he was hoping to concentrate on the economic recovery.

The Taoiseach delivered a lengthy speech, arguing the economy had reached a turning point, and outlined 10 areas for job creation, but the talk got little attention.

"It got swamped by the social welfare issue. It wasn't explained properly. When you're explaining, you're losing. Certainly he (Mr Cowen) shouldn't have had to be doing as much work as he had to do," a senior party source said.

The proposed changes were attacked by union leaders and opposition parties.

Describing the proposals as "heartless and reprehensible beyond belief", SIPTU President Jack O'Connor said by cutting the jobseekers allowance the Government was "throwing vulnerable people to the wolves".

He warned unscrupulous employers would offer low-paid jobs to workers on the dole. He said it was a "populist measure designed to focus in on the most vulnerable people in the country".

Fine Gael social welfare spokeswoman Olwyn Enright said the minister's new law imposed "penalties without prospects".

"Lone parents are also being singled out as the easy option. Minister O Cuiv provides no rational explanation for this measure, apart from saving money. Yet he fails to offer any real way to help lone parents to get training or education in return for the loss of several years of one parent family payments," she said.

Some Fianna Fail TDs admitted the issue had been raised with them over the weekend, with mixed views being expressed by the public.

Explanation

Fianna Fail TD Cyprian Brady said there needed to be more clarification on exactly what was proposed.

His party colleague, Noel O'Flynn, said many people would prefer to be back to work or in training than on social welfare. Mr Cowen said the changes were about trying to reduce dependency and providing opportunities.

The Green Party is also supportive of the changes, which it said were undertaken after a long period of consultation and consideration.

"It brings Ireland in line with the practice around the world," a spokesman said.

But a support group for lone parents, Open, said it was "frustrated and annoyed" by the minister's announcement.

While the changes to the lone parent benefit were expected, Open chief executive Frances Byrne said there had been no effort to explain that it would not happen immediately. Ms Byrne said people with no cause for concern were now worried about being affected.

She also said they had no inkling of the changes to unemployment payments.

The Irish Independent also reports that directors across Irish and UK-listed companies face annual elections and regulator performance reviews as part of an overhaul of a key corporate governance code.

The UK Corporate Governance Code -- formerly known as the Combined Code -- sets out standards of governance for companies whose shares are listed on the stock market.

Most large Irish companies have a UK listing and the Irish market previously followed the original code introduced in 1992.

The Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) said on Friday it would engage in consultations with the market on the implementation of a revised code for companies in this country.

Under a "comply or explain" policy, companies are required either to follow the code or explain how else they are acting to promote good governance.

"This [new UK] code, which updates the Combined Code, makes an important contribution to the debate on setting appropriate corporate governance standards for Irish listed companies in the future," the exchange said.

The new guidelines also contain measures to encourage greater representation of women in boardrooms.

The proposal that all company directors face annual election by shareholders would replace the current guidance of a three-year rolling system.

The Irish consultation will also consider findings of a recent report chaired by Professor Niamh Brennan of UCD.

Mike Duignan, head of market supervision at the Irish bourse, said: "The ISE's consultation will consider how best to incorporate the code into the existing Listing Rules and explore how this might be expanded to include the recommendations set out in the report."

The UK Financial Reporting Council said it was changing the code to "explicitly" ensure gender was taken into account by hiring committees.

The Irish Times reports that the joint administrators of Quinn Insurance will this week appoint an international investment bank to advise it on the sale of the Cavan-based company.

It is understood three leading global banks have been shortlisted for the role and a decision will be made in the coming days. This appointment will move a sale of the insurer significantly closer.

It is believed that the administrators – Michael McAteer and Paul McCann of Grant Thornton – have completed an information memorandum on Quinn Insurance, which will be sent to the 47 groups who have expressed an interest in buying the insurer since the High Court process began on March 30th.

The adviser appointed will be responsible for handling the sale process of Quinn Insurance on behalf of the administrators and for contacting all of the interested parties individually.

This could be a lengthy and complicated process, given the number of stakeholders involved.

Quinn Insurance is still owned by Quinn Group, the conglomerate controlled by the family of Fermanagh businessman Seán Quinn. Quinn Group has already indicated its willingness to sell its shareholding in the insurance company.

Any deal would also require the approval of the Financial Regulator and the High Court. All of the major insurance groups in Ireland – including FBD, Aviva and RSA – are believed to have expressed an interest in Quinn Insurance to the administrators.

US insurer Liberty Mutual is also interested in buying the business while Anglo Irish Bank, which is owed €2.8 billion by the Quinn family, is thought to have formulated a takeover proposal.

It is understood that the redundancy process, which aims to reduce the company’s headcount by 900, will also be finalised next week. The administrators are hopeful all job cuts will be on a voluntary basis after receiving in excess of 900 applications for the redundancy package on offer.

These redundancies represent 37 per cent of the company’s 2,450-strong workforce and is aimed at reducing Quinn Insurance’s cost base by €30 million a year and returning it to profitability. It should also make Quinn Insurance a more attractive proposition to a third-party investor.

Significant restructuring of the Quinn Insurance business has already taken place.

After being barred by the Financial Regulator from writing new business in the UK from March 30th, the administrators have since succeeded in gaining permission to reopen up to 70 per cent of that company’s lines of business by again offering quotes for motor insurance.

After previously writing loss-leading new motor policies in a bid to win market share, the administrators have moved to ensure Quinn Insurance’s UK arm is only issuing policies that will earn a profit.

On May 19th Colin Morgan stepped down as chief executive of Quinn Insurance after seven years with the business to “pursue other opportunities”. The administrators have no plans to replace Mr Morgan.

In a report presented earlier this month to the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, the administrators said a review by auditors found that Quinn Insurance had underprovided for liabilities by €68 million last year.

The court was told the company made a loss of €47 million in 2009.

The Irish Times also reports that Irish householders and businesses are still paying more on average for electricity than their European counterparts but the gap is closing, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland has said.

According to figures released yesterday, electricity prices fell for households and businesses in the second half of 2009.

This was accompanied by significant falls of up to 26 per cent in the price of gas.

In general prices in Ireland fell at a faster rate than the EU, resulting in Ireland moving significantly closer to the EU average price for electricity, and significantly lower than the average price for gas.

The authority said that when prices were adjusted for what it called “purchase power parity” between countries, Ireland’s prices for gas and electricity were 13 per cent cheaper for households than the EU average.

According to the figures, Irish gas prices to business were below the EU average in all consumption bands except the smallest consumers. Prices for medium consumers were up to 11 per cent below the EU average, while prices for some bigger consumers fell by 26 percent.

According to the authority the fall in prices in the final six months of 2009 was due to a complex range of factors, including competition in the electricity market.

But it noted Ireland’s renewable energy contribution has grown strongly and is ahead of both national and EU targets.

The authority said Ireland is now becoming “one of the world’s leading countries in the use of wind energy for electricity generation”. While the authority said “the trend is good and likely to continue” a spokesman noted “there is a need to drive progress in biofuel”.

At the end of 2009 just 1.5 percent of the State’s energy needs for transport were provided by renewable resources, the overwhelming majority of which was biofuel.

This figure is to be doubled to 3 per cent by this year, through a requirement that oil importers mix biofuel with both diesel and petrol.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland acknowledged farmers’ concern that oil companies may import the biofuel. Farmers have warned this may result in a dependence on imported fossil fuels being replaced by a dependence on imported biofuel. The Irish Farmers’ Association in particular has expressed concern that a “jobs dividend” for farmers be created by using Irish grown biofuel.

However, while a spokesman for the Sustainable Energy Authority acknowledged “things aren’t as smooth as they ought to be”, he said there are “some guys who are working away. There are plenty of people who are not making headlines because they are getting on with it”.

He added that price was a consideration and the future use of electric vehicles would also affect the figures for renewable energy use in the transport fleet.

Carbon emissions avoided through renewable energy use in the State’s transport fleet increased by an average 7.3 percent per year between 1990 and 2008 reaching 2.83 million tonnes.

Responding to the figures Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan said the data showed that from “far above” the EU average, Ireland was converging on the average, and was already in some cases below it.

He said the constraints Ireland faced as an island with higher transport costs, a dispersed population and the lack of economies of scale in power generation made the improvements in Ireland’s position more significant.

“Our success in the area of renewables is only adding to our competitive international advantage. It is clear such success can only come about through collaboration and competition and careful management of the market,” he said.

Electric costs: how Ireland fares:

In Ireland , you can run a 100-watt bulb for 10 hours, or enjoy a 10-minute instant electric shower, for one unit (a kilowatt hour or kWh) of electricity, costing an average price of 18.55 cent.

To have a similar wash or run the same bulb for the same amount of time in Estonia – where electricity prices are cheapest – will cost you just 9.2 cent.

In Romania, the wash or running the light bulb for similar periods would cost 9.79 cent and in Greece it would be 10.32.

In Germany , the cost of either the wash or the light would be 22.94 cent, and in the UK the price is 14.07 cent.

In Denmark , where electricity is most expensive among EU states, 10 hours of light from the bulb or a 10-minute shower would cost you 25.53 cent.

The Irish Examiner reports that the Government’s stamp duty on credit cards has been labelled "uncompetitive" by a leading industry group, which claims it could stop new entrants coming into the market.

This news comes as financial experts have called for more stringent checks before people are issued with credit or store cards. The Government, which cut the stamp duty on credit cards to €30, collected just over €61 million on the tax last year, down from €107.3m in 2008.

Industry groups have, however, called for the Government to abolish the tax altogether, with the Irish Payment Services Organisation (IPSO) believing the tax could discourage banks across Europe from entering the market.

Irish Brokers Association CEO Ciaran Phelan said there should be a new form of regulation to ensure a strict application and verification of maximum net disposal income thresholds to all debt applications, including credit cards, store card applications and money lender activities.

"Some brokers who offer debt advice believe that the mortgage arrears problem is being exacerbated as borrowers are taking too much comfort the Government’s repossession moratorium and as a result have prioritised non-mortgage debt, such as credit card payment over their mortgage repayments," he said.

Member of the Credit Union Development Association (CUDA) Brian Douglas said while mortgage debt and home repossessions have dominated the media, lesser attention has been given to the dangers of expensive revolving debt such as credit cards.

Mr Douglas said: "Credit cards are an extremely expensive form of credit." He said: "Providers of all forms of credit have a responsible role to play in helping people to avoid falling into dire financial straits that many have found themselves in due to expensive short terms credit." He said credit cards are useful for those who have the financial discipline to operate them correctly. However he added, a huge number of people do not.

He said: "In the last decade acquisition of a credit or store card has simply followed the click of a button to submit an application form. Unfortunately, very little attention was paid to the applicant’s ability to diligently manage their finances or the affordability of the applicant to repay his/her debts. This has resulted in not only thousands of people running up huge credit card bills which they are unable to repay, but it has also culminated in a culture whereby people purchase items and services they cannot afford simply because they can 'stick it on their credit card' and worry about payment at a later date."

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