Job agencies will be asked to help insurer’s employees
Taoiseach Brian Cowen said he sympathised with those who would lose their jobs. However, he believed the core business of Quinn Insurance was secure.
“This is a business that has a viable future and we need to work with the administrator appointed by the court and with the company to try and help as much as we possibly can to ensure we move on to a state of development for the company in a more sustainable place than it is at the moment,” he said.
The Government did not discuss potential purchasers of the company.
However, Fine Gael enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar said he had changed his mind on the merits of Anglo Irish Bank taking over the stricken insurance group. He said the more detailed plans for this potential takeover were an improvement. He said in general the sale of Quinn Insurance may be the only way to protect jobs.
“The Quinn Group’s decision to sell its business is a welcome development, albeit it late in the day, because it may actually save jobs in the long run.
“Given that the current administrator is determined to make the company profitable again by shrinking its workforce and pulling out of unprofitable markets, employees would benefit from finding a new owner who is committed to operating the company as a going concern,” he said.
His constituency colleague, Labour Party deputy Joan Burton, said the loss of 300 jobs from the Blanchardstown office was a terrible blow. She said the spillover to the regional economy would be particularly painful. “The 900 jobs that are to go will have a huge impact at local level in places like Cavan, Navan and Blanchardstown.
“I know that in my own area for instance, the impact of the 300 redundancies will hit very hard, as these workers represent an important consumer presence in the Blanchardstown Centre and the other retail parks in the area,” she said.
Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith said the fact the redundancies were voluntary was of little consolation to those affected.
He said the Government would demand the support of the IDA, Fás and Enterprise Ireland to try and find alternative employment.
“The Government is extremely anxious to support those who are being directly affected and are initiating a coordinated emergency response immediately,” he said.
