SEANAD REPORT:DIARMUID WILSON (FF) asked Minister of State Martin Mansergh to ensure administrators appointed to Quinn Insurance did not do anything more to damage that company.

The action of the Financial Regulator “has caused massive reputational damage, including overseas, particularly in the United Kingdom”, he said.

Joe O’Reilly (FG) worried about moving from light-touch regulation to over-regulation. “I am not saying that that is the case, but it is something to be avoided.”

Mr Wilson said that given what had happened in this country over the past two years, he welcomed robust regulation. What he took issue with was the unfairness of a regulator moving without notice against a company that had contributed a lot to the country.

The regulator had shaken to the core the national and international confidence that had taken 37 years to build in a company that even in these incredibly tough times was on track to report quarterly profits of €50 million. The regulator had not afforded the necessary time to work through whatever concerns there were.

Paschal Donohoe (FG) said in the context of what would appear to be a very healthy business, it had to be asked what was the information available to the regulator that led to the belief that this was the proper course of action.

Mr Mansergh said that at the next High Court hearing, on April 12th, the regulator would have an opportunity to make a fuller case for the appointment of an administrator. It would also afford Quinn Insurance an opportunity to address the regulator’s concerns.

The Government understood the importance of maintaining employment and it recognised the large contribution that the Quinn Group had made in recent years to greater competition in the insurance market. He accepted the point made by Mr Wilson about the potential impact on confidence of such a serious step being taken. “I am sure the regulator must have been fully conscious of those implications and consequences.”