British govt gave ‘more than €5m’ to Quinn Insurance

More than £5m (€5.7m) was paid out in British government support for Quinn Insurance, the North's Enterprise Minister said tonight.

Jobs creation body Invest NI has made grants for training, employment and property development dating back to 2003, Arlene Foster (DUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone) added.

Quinn Insurance had been in administration after Irish Financial Regulator Matthew Elderfield raised concerns about its solvency levels. It employs around 600 people in Fermanagh.

Ms Foster told the Northern Ireland Assembly: “Members will appreciate that the Irish Regulator operates wholly independently and that in respect to his position and independence we have sought to ensure that all efforts are made to resolve the issues quickly and in the best interests of the company, the workforce and, of course, all current and future policyholders.”

The Quinn Group employs over 8,000 people across the UK and Ireland. The total level of financial support from Invest NI is £5.5m (€6.2m) and all but £68,000 (€77,600) has been paid out to the company.

Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, is one of seven major contact centres in the UK and employs over 550 people.

The High Court in Dublin has appointed permanent administrators to Quinn Insurance.

It follows a dramatic turnaround by the company on Thursday when they dropped their objection to the appointment of administrators.

The group’s owner, Sean Quinn, had been highly critical of the move.

Mr Elderfield has said investigations were continuing into guarantees offered by Quinn Insurance on the group’s wider debts – the company owes €1.2bn and the family €2.8bn. He has denied he was being heavy-handed and said he had to protect the 1.3 million policyholders.

Staff, who have staged a series of rallies since the regulator moved in two weeks ago, have now said they are in favour of administration.

Tom Elliott (UUP, Fermanagh and South Tyrone) questioned how the Irish Regulator could force Quinn Insurance to cease trading in the UK.

He said the primary concern had to lie with those facing the loss of their jobs.

Tommy Gallagher (SDLP, Fermanagh, South Tyrone) said: “The priority for the Assembly has to be the retention of the 600 jobs in Enniskillen – we can’t afford to have those jobs lost to the area.

“If that could be done under Quinn Insurance, so much the better but the reality is that now it is in administration and we must work with the administrator.

“We need to work with them to get the UK markets open for business and renewals.”