Published: Wednesday, 14th April, 2010 5:00pm

Council united in support of Quinn Group

The clear need to preserve all employment with Quinn Insurance and the wider Quinn Group was the key plank of a resolution passed by Cavan County Council at an emergency meeting on Wednesday, April 7.

The special meeting was called to debate the crisis in Quinn Insurance, which has its headquarters at Dublin Road, Cavan, and employs over 800 people there.

At the meeting the council requested that the Interim Examiners allows Quinn Insurance to recommence writing new business and renewing policies in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.

It was also agreed by the members to request the Financial Regulator to give time to Quinn Insurance to comply with solvency requirements. Members agreed to send the proposed resolutions to everyone concerned including the Taoiseach Office, the Minister for Finance, and the Financial Regulator.

Contact was also to be made with Fermanagh District Council and it was also agreed to send a letters of support to both the workers of the groups an the Quinn family.

There was cross-party support during the two-hour meeting and each member present contributed to the debate.

Cllr. Andrew Boylan said they were all united in their support for Sean Quinn. What they faced was one of the biggest issues that ever affected the county and they were appalled in the way he had been treated. "Sean Quinn should be allowed to put his case forward."

Cllr. Sean Smith who called for the meeting along with party colleague John Paul Feeley, said he knew Sean Quinn for close on 30 years and was a huge admirer of him. "Sean Quinn has given impeccable service to Cavan." The Quinn Group was vital for the Cavan area and beyond giving employment to 5,500 people. "This crisis does not only affect Cavan but Fermanagh as well. It is a serious problem we face and it could cause a blight in this area if it is not successfully resolved."

Cllr. Charlie Boylan said it was good to see that there was cross-border support as well with members from the Northern Assembly also playing their role. "This crisis has to be resolved to everyone's satisfaction."

Cllr. John Paul Feeley said, "these developments were of huge concern to me. We hear much in these times of certain businesses being of Systemic Importance.

To West Cavan indeed to this county, this region and this country the Quinn Group is of systemic importance." The Quinn Group has done in this region what state agencies could never do and has in many ways they have put this region on the map.

"Any undermining of this group is an undermining of this county and we must, as one voice make clear our anger and concern to the Regulator and our demand to the Administrators to act, with the Quinn Management, the employees and indeed the other financial parties to get this Quinn Group back in action."

"Quinn has consistently demonstrated his commitment to this county and country. We can look around and the see various enterprises he has developed. He has paid his taxes here, employed thousands, directly and indirectly. He has done his patriotic duty."

Cllr. Peter McVitty said "we are all singing from the one hymn sheet on this and we all want the Quinn Group to continue working." Ultimately the matter will be decided in the courts. "The people who have brought the country to its knees did not deliver one job and it was all for personal gain." If the Quinn Group went it would have a devastating effect on the entire area.

Cllr. Damien Brady stated that one job could not be lost. He pointed out that one small transport company who relied on Quinn for a lot of work paid €50,000 to the Co. Cl in rates, €25,000 on motor tax, €40,000 by direct debit every month to the Collector General, income and corporation tax of €40,000 as well as excise duty and carbon tax every month from diesel.

Cllr. Maura Maguire-Lynch said the situation had raised a lot of concern for her constituents. "Quinn had created a lot of jobs in the region and that had to be welcomed." She hoped the Financial Regulator would work with the Quinn Group to resolve the issue for the benefit of the staff and customers.

Mr. Vincent Reynolds, CEO of the County Enterprise Board, complimented those who convened the meeting. He pointed out that the Financial Regulator had an independent role to play. "It is good to see pro-active politics from both sides of the border." The Quinn Group was not only important to Cavan and Fermanagh but far beyond.

"We all know Sean Quinn the man and the contribution he has made to Cavan, Fermanagh, and Leitrim. He along with Michael O'Leary are the only billionaires who reside in Ireland and pay their taxes." There was unanimous local support for the Quinn Group. It was important that accurate and relevant information is brought to the Financial Regulator, he said, and dialogue was ongoing.

County Manager, Jack Keyes, said over the years the council strove to achieve certain things for the county and they had worked together to achieve them. However, what they faced dwarfed everything they had done in the past and it didn't bear thinking about. "The reality is that the major decision will be made outside the county in the High Court and all they could do at a local level is hope for a positive solution."

Other councillors who contributed to the debate Paddy Smith, Gerry Murray, Patricia Walsh, Shane O'Reilly, Niamh Smyth, Madeleine Argue, Dessie Boylan, Danny Brady, Fergal Curtin, Paddy O'Reilly, Pauline Tully.