Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. My primary concern, as I am sure it would be for many Deputies, is for the 2,800 employees of Quinn Insurance Limited in Cavan, Enniskillen, Navan, Dublin, Cork and in Manchester. We recognise the Quinn Group is one of the biggest employers in the Border region and in the country as a whole.

What is the Minister's Department doing in specific terms to secure and protect those jobs? Will the Minister confirm the number of jobs involved in Quinn Insurance, which I have just indicated as being 2,800? Does this square with his Department's tally? Is the Minister concerned that the situation now presenting could affect other parts of the Quinn Group and involve further thousands of jobs?

As Deputy Noonan noted, Mr. Seán Quinn has alleged that the appointment of the administrator endangers 5,500 jobs in Ireland - "endangers" is the word used in the text as reported in this morning's media. How would the Minister respond to that claim by the Quinn Group?

With regard to the Financial Regulator and the appointed administrator, is it a primary part of its remit that it would, as it should, take every step to guarantee to help ensure the safety of the jobs concerned in Quinn Insurance Limited, as the focus at this point in time, and the Quinn Group in a further sense if, God forbid, that were to be the case?

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