Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)

I join my colleague, Senator O'Reilly, in calling for an urgent debate on the future of Quinn Insurance and, by extension, the entire Quinn Group. As the Senator noted, Quinn Insurance was put into administration by the Financial Regulator more than six months ago. As I speak, 1,400 people in my native County Cavan and 6,500 people nationally and internationally are concerned about their futures. The Quinn family put forward a proposal that would repay Anglo Irish Bank more than €2 billion of the money it is owed over a period of seven years. I understand from media reports and information Senator O'Reilly and I obtained from concerned Irish businesses that the situation has changed over the past week and Anglo Irish Bank is now considering whether to take a partner into Quinn Insurance. If that happens, Quinn Insurance will be out of Irish ownership within months. The company's employees will lose their jobs and Quinn Group, which depends heavily on its operations working in conjunction with each other, will collapse. That is the reality. I am aware the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Smith, and his Cabinet colleagues have been working intensely on this for several months but we are now at the point of crisis. I call on the Minister for Finance to update this House on Quinn Insurance and the future of the entire Quinn Group and its 6,500 jobs.