Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Rory O'Hanlon will confirm that we met with the Minister for Finance and that Mr. Elderfield was present at the meeting. It is not for me to reveal in public the sentiments expressed by Mr. Elderfield at that meeting. The Deputy must recognise that the regulator has an independent role, and he demands that independence. He gave an opinion on that occasion with regard to the Quinn Group and what could be done for it. I am satisfied that on the basis of the efforts of Deputy O'Hanlon and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, we have met on a regular basis with all of the entities involved. We all want to see a successful conclusion to this and want to see the retention of the maximum number of jobs. We have emphasised this to everyone we have met, including Mr. Elderfield and the joint administrators.

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