Meet the Quinn workers whose jobs are on the line...

Since Quinn Insurance was plunged into the full glare of the media a month ago with the appointment of administrators to the business, lots has been written and spoken about the entire situation. This week, Anglo-Celt reporter, Sean McMahon, took the opportunity to visit the Quinn Direct head office in Cavan, to get up close and personal with some of the workers, whose jobs are now on the line. It was a familiar tale of families and young couples whose whole livelihoods are dependant on Quinn Insurance. Some who were planning to get married may now have to postpone their weddings, others will not be able to pay their mortgages because their bonuses have been stopped. One woman is pregnant and said she did not need the trauma associated with the possibility of losing her job. The employees want the Regulator and the Minister for Enterprise to come down and see the misery and devastation. They say the ban on trading in the UK and Northern Ireland must be lifted immediately to secure the jobs of 1,500 employees working in this area... Cian Carlin Cian from Belturbet who had been working in the London office came home at Easter and started working in the Cavan office. "My arrival in Cavan coincided with the announcement about going into administration. There has been nothing for me to do and there was no point in me going back over to the London office. I have been here for a month and decided to stay here... It has not really been publicised that there is a London office beside the Bank of England, with ten people employed. Most of them are from the Cavan/Fermanagh area and two were in claims and the remainder in commercial underwriting." Cian said he is lucky that he did not get into a mortgage situation by buying a house. "We lost the bonus as from last Friday and it can make up to 25 to 30 per cent of your wages. We do not know when we will get that back and we don't know if we'll be back running from next week. I was chatting to the other people in the London office today and they are shocked. "They don't know what is happening. Some were actually sent over on secundment and put up in a house. If there is no jobs by next week, they will lose their house," he said. Cian said it would be devastating for him if he has to leave Quinn Insurance after ten years. He remarked that the turn of events is all the more surprising given that there had been a push in recent times to develop the London office with Sean Quinn Jnr. based there. "There had been a big push on the brokers to get more support and I actually had turned the corner in that regard. Now since the administration happened, it has been a disaster and it will be so hard to rebuild that. The cost of those relationships with the brokers over there is immense and it will set us back a couple of years," explained Cian. William Henry From Cavan town, William has been working in Quinn Direct for ten years and is employed in the facilities department. "We look after the provision of office requisites and all the maintenance in the buildings, so that the operations runs smoothly. If there are less staff here, then our team will also be reduced," he explained. His partner Aisling McDermott also works in Quinn Direct in the IT department and they have a two-year-old daughter and another baby on the way. William says they have a mortgage and all the other bills, including crèche fees. The letter from the administrators indicated that the bonuses were being suspended from the end of the month on a short-term basis. "The bonus for the two of us was being used to pay a mortgage. That bill is still going to come in each month. We have to try and find that money somewhere else and if the jobs were to go, it would really compound our situation." The decision by the regulator has taken the heart out of the company, says William. "People are now worried about their jobs - here to fore the concentration was on working to get new customers." William has called on the regulator to come down and face the people in these offices and see the effect of having people sitting around with no work to do. He also called for the Minister for Enterprise to come to the Cavan office and see the situation at first hand. Ministers would be here fast enough, if there was an official opening. "Minister Brendan Smith is the only one that came in here to see what was going on." Roisín Carlin Belturbet woman Roisín Carlin told The Anglo-Celt that she is a team leader in the commercial department and has worked with Quinn Insurance for over nine years. "I have been working here since I was 16 years of age, starting out with summer work. Six weeks ago, we were all sitting here thinking this is a very secure company and that we were doing really well, which it was. Everybody is devastated and my department is really busy because I work in the Republic of Ireland sales." Roisín said that she has car loans and personal loans and I just don't want to contemplate not having a job. Although she would not like to emigrate, she could not just sit at home with no job. When asked what would happen if hundreds of jobs were lost in Cavan, Roisín said: "Cavan would be a ghost town and Fermanagh would be the same, because it will have a knock on effect of various businesses. Quinn just brings so much to the two counties and well beyond. We as wage earners are spending our money here, that would all be gone." Roisin is calling on the regulator to make his decision quickly. "There are people here just waiting around in limbo. We need to start trading again in the UK and bring the money in," she said. Wendy Fitzpatrick Wendy, Ballyconnell, works in the commercial department. "My fiancée Michael Power works here as well. It is really scary for both of us as we have a little girl at school. It is devastating that we don't know if either us will still have a job, as we look forward to our wedding day. I don't know where our wedding plans will go from here. We may have to cancel the wedding for a time. This has thrown our lives into disarray, especially with our two wages coming from Quinn Direct. "Our bonuses have also been cut from last Friday and those bonuses ranged from around €300 to €600 and sometimes more. It makes a big difference in the wage coming into the house," added Wendy. Eileen Carlin Also from Belturbet, Eileen has been working with Quinn for nearly 14 years. She joined Quinn Direct just after the first year of trading and is now the legal officer. While she is busy at present, the turmoil that is going on has a knock-on effect in every department. When she started with Quinn, there were just 50 people employed and there is now a workforce in Cavan of almost 800. It all started at 83 Main Street, Cavan with a couple of dozen people, moving to the Dublin Road in 1988. "It is just mind blowing to see where we are today. One month ago everything was flying here. The only complaint we had was that we were too busy. People often came in here on Saturdays of their own accord to catch up on work. What is happening now is just incredible," she said. Eileen who is planning to get married in 15 weeks has a mortgage and a car loan. "We just don't know if our wedding is going ahead or not at this time. With this turmoil, we may well have to put the wedding on hold." Her son is hoping to go to college in September. Eileen's message for the regulator? "Get your finger out and stop dragging your feet. I know that our administrators here are working extremely hard. They are getting their reports and business plans through to him as quickly as they can... "It is a crisis situation now and there are a lot of people under a lot of stress - mentally, emotionally and financially. It is hard to be motivated when you don't know what your future is. They are putting together proposals at the moment in regard to imminent job losses. It is very hard to put your head down and get on with business as usual, with that hanging over you." Eileen added: "It is really sad to look around here. People are in terrible distress over this. We know we can do it. It is a profitable company." She added that they are being told ministers are working on the issue day and night. "We say to them now, prove it." Carmel Killen From Roslea, Carmel said that she had been working in Quinn Direct for just over seven years. "I'm married with a mortgage with lots of bills like everyone else and I'm also expecting a baby at the end of July. This whole uncertainty is something I don't need right now, when I'm expecting. The mortgage still has to be paid and bills have to be paid and my husband would not be on a huge wage either," she said. Carmel works in the commercial renewals area for the Republic of Ireland and always thought she was secure working for Quinn Direct. "We still have the commercial business here in the South and we are still busy, but the ban on the North and the UK is effecting income. There are people sitting beside me with nothing to do. They are trying to find work to do. It is devastating for those people going from a busy day working to doing nothing," she said.