Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Yes, but I think I can throw some light on the questions the Deputy asked. I agree with the Deputy. The Government is very concerned about the preservation of employment, both in the insurance company and in the wider Quinn Group. That is a core concern of the Government, which is the reason we asked the chairman of Enterprise Ireland to take an interest in this matter just before Easter. I am aware he has liaised with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment about that particular aspect, which is of fundamental importance.

The Deputy rightly made the point that there is a substantial indebtedness, which has been acknowledged by Mr. Quinn, his companies and associated members of his family, to Anglo Irish Bank.

The next issue we must examine is the question of what the Government has done to support the efforts of the administrator and the regulator to sustain the viability of the Quinn Insurance company. In that connection, the Government authorised the Secretary General of the Department of Finance to put our regulator in possession of a letter of comfort from the Department of Finance for the attention of the United Kingdom authorities which made clear the legal implications of the nature of the State guarantee that already exists in our legislation for policy holders. Naturally, the United Kingdom authorities were concerned about that.

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