Fearful Quinn staff in Navan left in limbo to await fate

As the future of Quinn Insurance continues to hang in the balance, it has been estimated that the company, which employs 200 in its Navan office, is worth in excess of €5m annually to the local economy. The loss of so many jobs in Navan would be a massive blow to the town and would have a huge knock-on effect for the local economy, local public representatives and business leaders have warned. With an estimated 70 per cent of employees at the Navan office dealing with Northern Ireland and UK business, there are grave concerns about the future of these jobs since the Financial Regulator ordered Quinn Insurance to cease writing new business there. As a satellite office employing just 200 of the companys's 2,200 employees in Ireland, employees are also concerned about whether the Navan office would remain open if the company was to be sold on. At the High Court on Monday, the application by the Financial Regulator to have permanent administrators appointed to Quinn Insurance was adjourned for a week and a full hearing of the case will be before the High Court next Monday. A lengthy document prepared by Quinn Insurance was submitted to the Financial Regulator and while counsel for the regulator said it did not appear to address several of the regulator's concerns, it merited careful consideration and a response. It was also announced yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon that Talbot Hughes McKillop LLP (THM) has been engaged by the Quinn Group to provide financial restructuring services to the company. The chief executive of Quinn Group, Liam McCaffrey, said: "Mr McKillop's role will be to assist the board and the executive management team to successfully work through the group's current issues and to ensure that executive management are not excessively diverted from the vitally important job of running our manufacturing business." It is understood that the Financial Regulator is also considering a proposal put by Quinn Insurance to allow the company resume writing new business in Northern Ireland and the UK. Meath County Council's director of economic development and innovation, Kevin Stewart, has estimated that the 200 jobs in Navan are worth in excess of €5m to the local economy and said it would be a huge loss to the town and county if anything happened these jobs. "I would hope that the difficulties at Quinn will get resolved to everybody's satisfaction and that some way is found to protect the jobs. Meath County Council was delighted to help secure the Quinn jobs for Navan and it would be a huge loss to the local economy if anything were to happen. The 200 jobs are probably worth in excess of €5m to the local economy. Quinn Direct is one of the major employers, not just in Navan but also in County Meath," said Mr Stewart. More than 90 per cent of staff at Quinn's Navan office are from Meath and employees are deeply worried about the future of their jobs. Because the Navan offices deal mostly with the UK and Northern Ireland market, it is a top priority for staff that the company be able to commence writing new business there as soon as possible. Some 120 staff members travelled to Dublin for a protest march last week where employees pleaded for their jobs to be saved. Samantha Black from Kells has worked with Quinn Direct for two years as claims handler. Her partner, Chris Bell, sister Pamela and her sister's partner, Noel Brady, all work for the company in Navan. She said the news that provisional administators had been appointed to the company was an "awful shock". "There is a lot of uncertainty especially where two of us are working there. We have a three year-old child and a mortgage to pay. It is the same for my sister who has a six month-old child, and they are building a house. It is a big shock for us all," she said. Regarding morale, Ms Black said "everyone is down" and there is a lot of uncertainty. She said the Navan office was being hit very hard as their main business is the UK and Northern Ireland market and they are already seeing the effects. "If we don't have calls, there is no job for us. Our priority is getting the UK up and running." She went on: "I have confidence that Sean Quinn will pull it back if he was just given time. What has happened has just put more jobs at risk. "We are looking at over 200 people becoming unemployed and all trying to get a job at the same time and that is not going to happen." Kevin Walsh from Trim is a manager in the claims department and has three young children aged under four. He said: "It is devastating news, especially in the current environment. It is very worrying." With 70-75 per cent of staff working on the Northern Ireland and UK market, Mr Walsh said the clock is ticking. "The clock is ticking for us. We have a number of claims but if we are not writing new business, the claims will fall off. The clock is ticking and it needs to be a top priority to get the UK going again. "The longer it goes on, the more the brand is hurt." Mr Walsh said that people are nervous and afraid for their future. "Two weeks ago, we were quite happy with our future prospects. As far as we were concerned, it was a growing business in a good financial state so it is big blow," he said. He said that staff are spending their wages in the county and there are garages that repair claims for Quinn in the area. "There are service providers who depend on our business. People don't realise how big a ripple this could have." While employees are very concerned, Mr Walsh said they feel that a strong proposal has been put forward that the regulator is looking at and they are "hopeful that something will come of that". He added that a proposal had also been put to the regulator with regards to writing new business in Northern Irealnd and they are hoping to have news on that soon.