Ireland

France will refuse a cut in the cost of Ireland’s European bail-out loans at next week’s meeting of eurozone finance ministers as long as Dublin maintains its ultra-low corporate tax rate, the Financial Times reported. Paris appears to be setting itself against a growing European view that Ireland should be given some extra room for manoeuvre as European leaders weigh the need for a new aid package for Greece, which could also involve a second rate cut.

The €25 million being offered by an investor as part of the rescue plan for housebuilders McInerney was well below the potential value of the company’s assets, counsel for three banks objecting to the plan has told the Supreme Court, the Irish Times reported. Senior counsel Michael Collins, for KBC, Anglo Irish Bank and Bank of Ireland, who are owed €113 million by McInerney, said the banks and other parties agreed the best way to realise and manage the assets was to develop the lands that the company owned.

An interim examiner has been appointed to the Xtra-Vision chain of home entertainment stores, InsolvencyJournal.ie reported. Xtra-Vision has 1,300 employees and more than 180 stores across the country. It is understood these stores will continue to trade as normal throughout the examinership process. David Hughes of Ernst & Young was appointed interim examiner. The main reason Xtra-Vision applied to the courts for protection is believed to be due to the fact that two credit insurance providers made the decision to withdraw their coverage to a number of Xtra-Vision suppliers.

Aer Lingus has warned that its controversial €97 million cost-containment programme at the airline may not be sufficient to protect profitability and that more cuts could be needed, the Irish Times reported. In a statement yesterday, the airline signalled that additional measures could be required given the weakness in domestic demand and rising fuel prices. Aer Lingus made an operating loss of €53.7 million in the first three months of this year. This was 41 per cent ahead of the same period in 2010. The airline said its operating profit would be “significantly lower” than in 2010.

The National Asset Management Agency made a loss of €714.1 million in its first 10 months of operation, according to unaudited accounts lodged with Minister for Finance Michael Noonan yesterday, the Irish Times reported. Nama was pushed into the red in the period from February 27th to December 31st, 2010, after booking an “estimated” impairment charge of €1 billion relating to the €71.4 billion nominal value of loans that it had received up to that point. Nama’s audited accounts will not be released until June and it is understood this impairment charge could yet increase.

New statistics released by InsolvencyJournal.ie reveal that April evidenced no respite in the number of corporate insolvencies, with 162 appointments recorded during the month. The total number of corporate insolvencies for the first four months was 558, an increase on the same period last year of 3%. April saw a marked increase in both Creditor’s Voluntary Liquidations (21% increase on March) and Receivership appointments (55% increase on March), a trend which is expected to continue.

Developers Ray and Danny Grehan have until the close of business tomorrow to repay debts of €650 million owed by their Glenkerrin Group or Nama will place the group back into receivership, the Irish Times reported. At midnight on Friday, the State assets agency stood down the statutory receivers that had been appointed to Glenkerrin earlier in the week. Control of the properties was returned to Glenkerrin on Saturday morning. A spokesman for Nama said the agency had acceded to a request from Glenkerrin for additional time to respond to Wednesday’s developments.

Quinn Insurance administrators reported today that the company lost a total of €706m 2009, mainly related to operating losses in its UK market and writedowns in the value of some assets, Finfacts reported. The joint administrators, Michael McAteer and Paul McCann, said losses in 2010 were contained and the company will post a loss of €160m which again is related to UK business written prior to their appointment. About €600m will be required from the bailout insurance fund.

Relations between The National Asset Management Agency and developers Ray and Danny Grehan broke down last week after the agency asked them to sign up to about 35 legal documents improving security on debts of about €650 million as a condition of the agency funding the completion of a hotel extension in London, the Irish Times reported. The agency asked Ray Grehan to agree to renewed personal guarantees and additional legal charges over personal assets, including his family home, and the properties owned by his company, Glenkerrin, last week.

The European Commission did not do enough to criticise the unsustainable growth of the Irish economy during the boom and the government here did not use the tools that could have slowed bank lending, according to Klaus Regling, the boss of the EU’s new bailout fund, the Irish Times reported. Mr Regling is the first chief executive of the European Financial Stabilisation Fund (EFSF), which was set up in mid-2010 to provide funds to bail out out euro area countries. Ireland became the first country to be provided with funds by the EFSF.