1,000 New Jobs For Meath

Quinn-direct To Create New Insurance Facility In

Last Thursday Mr. Micheál Martin T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, announced the creation of 1,000 jobs by Quinn-direct Insurance to support the company's international development.

Up to 700 of these jobs will be located at a new facility in Navan, Co. Meath, with the remainder being created at the company's existing Irish operations in Cavan and Blanchardstown.

The 1,000 high-value jobs, the majority supported by Enterprise Ireland, will be created over the next five years, and will enable Quinn-direct to service the growth in its overseas businesses from the Republic of Ireland.

Making the announcement Minister Martin said: "I am delighted to announce this very substantial project by Quinn-direct Insurance. Quinn-direct's commitment to building a facility that will provide up to 700 new jobs in Navan is particularly good news for the North East region."

"Quinn-direct is an excellent example of how an ambitious Irish Financial Services company can grow and internationalise and Enterprise Ireland will continue to work closely with the company"

"I would like to recognise the significant inter-agency co-operation between Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Meath County Council that made this project possible." Minister Martin said.

Commenting on the announcement Colin Morgan, General Manager of Quinn-direct said:

"Quinn-direct continues to grow its business in Ireland where we are now the third largest insurer. But as well as growing our Irish business we are very excited about the opportunities for our business overseas, especially in the UK."

"We are delighted to announce the establishment of a new office facility in Navan and continued expansion of our existing offices in Cavan and Blanchardstown. The new jobs created will be across many disciplines including insurance sales, claims administration and customer service and will service Quinn-direct's UK and European customer base."

Welcoming the announcement by the Minister, Frank Ryan CEO of Enterprise Ireland said:

"This is a major project for Navan and the Quinn Group. Enterprise Ireland is very pleased to be supporting such a significant development by this ambitious company.

The internationalisation of Irish business is of paramount importance to the future success of the Irish economy. Enterprise Ireland will work very closely with the Quinn group in its future development strategy."

Quinn-direct is part of the Quinn Group and was founded in 1996.

It currently employs over 1,100 people in the Republic of Ireland and over 500 in the UK and Northern Ireland.