Quinn staff step up pressure on regulator

WORKERS at the beleaguered Quinn Group said yesterday that they were confident the multinational's UK insurance wing would reopen for business.

Employees said they had been assured the closure order was being reviewed and were hopeful the UK arm would reopen tomorrow, following talks between the Irish financial regulator and a cross-border, cross-party group of concerned politicians.

The company, founded by Sean Quinn, once Ireland's richest businessman, is due before the High Court in Dublin on Monday to fight the watchdog's move to place Quinn Insurance Ltd (QIL) in administration.

The group – which employs almost 2,800 people in Ireland and the UK – was effectively put under the control of the state on 30 March after the country's financial watchdog said it had grave concerns over its solvency. The regulator said the company had gone from a position of having assets of 200 million (175m) more than liabilities to having liabilities 200m greater than assets. It ordered the group to stop writing new business in the UK to prevent the "unprofitable" British operation from "suffering further financial losses".

However, employees said the ban on UK business was being reviewed amid growing pressure, street protests and high-level meetings over fears for jobs.

"As a direct result of our work, the administrator is currently reassessing the NI/UK business plan which contains supporting information for the lifting of the NI/UK ban," employees said in a statement.

"The administrator will be sending this information to the regulator in the next 24 hours.

"Therefore, should the regulator act with the same urgency that he did last Tuesday on receipt and examination of the information, Quinn Insurance should be open for trading in the NI/UK by Friday morning."

Quinn employees, who marched on the Dail on Tuesday were planning another rally last night in Cavan, organised by the local chamber of commerce. The staff warned they would follow that with a mass demonstration outside regulator Matthew Elderfield's office in Dublin tomorrow, when he is expected to receive the administrators' report.