Taoiseach Brian Cowen has asked senior Enterprise Ireland personnel to meet with the troubled Quinn Group.
Mr Cowen has confirmed he spoke with Mr Quinn on Thursday night “at Mr Quinn’s request”.
During the conversation, Mr Quinn “reiterated directly to the Taoiseach the points he had made in his television interview earlier that evening”, according to a Government statement.
The Taoiseach pointed out the High Court had appointed joint provisional administrators to Quinn Insurance Limited following an application by the Financial Regulator who acts independently in such matters.
Mr Cowen was focused on finding a solution to the difficulties faced by the Quinn Group, the statement said.
“The Taoiseach has asked the chairman and chief executive of Enterprise Ireland to meet with representatives of the Group to see if they can be of any assistance.”
Meanwhile, speaking to journalists at the annual Easter Rising commemoration in Dublin, Mr Cowen said he wanted to “bring matters forward’’ in the situation facing the Quinn group.
“It is about trying to focus on seeing if we can find a solution," he said.
Mr Cowen said he had not been in touch with the regulator in any respect since the court order was made.
“Obviously, we have to respect everyone’s function here, and, from my point of view, it is to look at the employment situation and see in what way we can try and find a solution…rather than a critique of where we are at the minute," he added.
The Taoiseach said it was important to focus on a solution and “get the parties…the Quinn group and the people they are dealing with to try and see if there is a way forward here".
There was a concern, he said, for the people who worked in the group, and that area of business itself, and his job was to indicate that they should focus on finding a solution rather than an argument about where it was at.