Fraudulent tax return notices have been emailed to many Irish people over the final days of last year in a bid to get personal information, it has emerged.

Aviva health insurance has announced price hikes.

The equivalent of one person will be diagnosed with cancer every 12 minutes by the end of the decade unless vital public donations for screening and treatment services continue to be made.

Health insurer GloHealth is to increase rates on some of its plans from Mar 31 and Apr 3.

A second health insurer is set to ask cash-strapped customers to pay even more for cover, less than a week after politicians were warned a fresh 20%-40% industry hike is on the cards.

Youngsters are putting themselves at risk of heart disease in later life by not exercising, medics have warned.

Health insurer VHI is set to impose its sixth recession-era price hike within weeks — meaning some premium costs have doubled since the economic crash began.

Hard-pressed families face soaring health insurance premiums and higher energy costs from the middle of this month — with worse to come.

Deirdre Reynolds asks if the porn industry is driving the growing demand for perfect vaginas.

The Central Bank has fined Aviva almost €500,000 for breaches of consumer protection codes in both its life and pensions and its health divisions.

Hard-pressed families have just hours left to decide on whether they must switch or cancel their health insurance coverage, as premiums for all three insurers are set to rise from tomorrow.

Households considering free health cover for children and teenagers have been urged to check out the fine print.

The surge away from private health insurance is set to increase again, after VHI announced plans to hike its prices by an average of 9% from next month.

THE sheer complexity of health insurance policies is forcing people who could afford to keep their coverage to quit because hidden deals are not being adequately explained by insurers.

Nearly a quarter of people over indulged during the Christmas holidays, eating double what they normally would, new research has revealed.

HIKES in health insurance will see more young people cancel their policies leaving insurers with more older people which will in turn drive up the cost of premiums, an insurance expert has warned.

THE number of people treated on hospital trolleys this winter is 25% higher than this time last year — and may grow further if more people cancel their health insurance due to budget-induced price hikes.

VHI customers will have suffered a massive 120% increase in their health insurance cost since the start of the recession if the insurer imposes a threatened 50% budget-induced price rise.

New research shows over a third of women aged between 18 and 24 have never performed a breast check.

A QUARTER of the country’s nightclubs have shut down because of falling trade and increased fees for late opening.

A quarter of the country’s nightclubs have shut down because of falling trade and fees for late opening.

IRISH people are spending on average almost €2,000 a year on alcohol with Dublin and Louth the counties with highest weekly intake, new figures show.

The incoming government has been urged to press ahead with a ban on children using sunbeds and renew anti-smoking efforts to cut cancer rates.

A NEW €90 million state-of-the-art medical centre in Cork is a “medical mall” on the cutting edge of experimentation with the very best of equipment and staff, according to the hospital’s chief executive.