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Dublin: 14 °C Wednesday 19 June, 2013

Anglo Irish ousts Sean Quinn from group he founded

Thousands of employees hear assurances that their jobs are safe – but the Quinn family will no longer have a role in the business.

Image: PA Images/Julien Behal

ANGLO IRISH BANK has made a deal which will see Sean Quinn and his family removed from having any role in the Quinn Group.

Finance Minister today assured employees of the Group that all 2,600 manufacturing jobs – 1,000 of which are in the Republic of Ireland – would be saved. But Michael Noonan told RTE Radio’s News at One that it was hard not to feel “personally sorry” for Sean Quinn, who was once Ireland’s richest man.

Now assets owned by Quinn and his family have been passed over to a receiver by Anglo. Sean Quinn was unable to repay €2.8bn of loans he undertook so that he could invest in the now nationalised Anglo Irish Bank. The BBC reports that Anglo has announced that Kieran Wallace of KPMG is acting as receiver for the Quinn family’s assets and that a five-year restructuring plan had been put in place to stabilise the Group’s businesses.

The new deal may see US insurance group Liberty Mutual join Anglo in taking over the insurance arm of Quinn.

Caroline Ford, a long-term employee of Quinn Insurance told RTÉ’s News at One today that she’s disappointed with the government’s response over the company and fears that there is no genuine loyalty for the border region.

“If this [Quinn] is gone, there is nothing else in that area. There is no future for many people. I was away in the last recession, I’m too old now for packing up my family and moving abroad; this needs to be addressed.”

Just last January, accountant appointed to the Quinn Group wrote a letter to those owed money by the Group, defending the continuing role of the Quinn family in the business.

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Comments (5 Comments)

  • G 14/04/11 #

    Great, a shoddy dead black hole company has just taken over a successful one.

    Keep in mind last weeks news. Where does Noonan invest his money? That’s right, in German bonds! Compromised politician, like the last shower.

    Reply
  • “The current government are focussed on trying to stabilise a bankrupt country.”

    No, they are not. They are going to bankrupt us further. They promised us under no uncertain terms that senior bondholders would be forced the share the burden. Noonan later backpeddled on this. He lied to the Irish public, and that is a fact.

    No economist in their right mind believes we can sustain the levels of debt which Fine Gael continues to load onto us. 24 billion was given in capital to banks, without even one senior bondholder taking a hit. And yet, the Irish people are being forced to live with the austerity measures.

    They are just a continuation of Fianna Fáil policy.

    Reply
  • How about a bit of empathy from Noonan towards families who can’t even afford to pay their heating bills. How about Noonan have a bit of empathy towards working and middle class families who have taken a huge hit, while he’s left senior bondholders get away scot-free, after lieing to the Irish public telling us that senior bondholders would share the burden.

    We know where Noonan’s priorities lay, and it isn’t with the working man.

    Reply
  • The current government are focussed on trying to stabilise a bankrupt country.
    Michael Noonan was not the Minister when the whole country went completely out of control as FF bought election after election, whilst displaying an understanding of economics that my 14 year old son has already surpassed.

    Michael Noonan is hog-tied by agreements entered into with the troika by his predecessor. Unfortunately, he can do nothing without their approval and they have refused to let him do as you and he wished.

    Always remember where responsibility for our bankruptcy lies ……McCreevy, Ahern, Harney, Cowan and Lenihan.
    The rest of the FF clowns just followed them

    Reply
  • Anglo Irish should have been buried. We the tax payer are pumping money into a black hole formed from corruption, ignorance and lack of regulation. It would cost less to give investors and bond holders their money back rather than pumping money in to the hole to try and find the bottom

    Reply

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