Colm,
Firstly, I want to reiterate again that we in CIC in no way condone any acts of vandalism, sabotage or anything that would endanger either jobs or personal safety. You asked me if I could guarantee that the sabotage etc would stop if QBRC consortium were successful in purchasing the company. As I stated, I, or I don't believe any of our members can guarantee anything 100% but there is just one point that we wish to make which we believe sums it all up: Sean Quinn and his team never had any security or never had a need for them for almost four decades, including through the darkest days of the troubles and the company was in fact implicit in bringing all communities together as employees from different backgrounds worked side by side in harmony in the Quinn Group.
As discussed earlier, we in Concerned Irish Citizens (CIC) are being contacted by hundreds of Quinn Group/Aventas employees, customers and suppliers of the company, businesses who are dependant on the survival of the company and wide variety of community members on a weekly basis who are concerned and outraged about the manner in which the company is now being managed and flogged off piecemeal in questionable circumstances to people who are alleged to be closely connected with the CEO. People are also outraged that the CEO of a company now in freefall took for himself, for one year, ONE MILLION AND EIGHTY NINE THOUSAND EURO WHILE THE LOYAL EMNPLOYEES ARE SACKED AND DISPOSED OF?
As you are aware, a local consortium led by a group of extremely reputable businessmen, Cllr. John McCartin, John Bosco O'Hagan and Ernie Fisher and including the former highly respected Directors of the Quinn Group, are in the process of submitting a bid to purchase the company and keep it whole. Our communities are outraged that attempts are being made on a weekly basis to flog off parts of the company before the consortium get an opportunity to have their proposal considered.
We are all aware that Paul O'Brien can tell you what he wants and what suits but if a balanced article is to be written, we would ask that you explore the following issues which have been brought to our attention by employees, Managers etc:
1 Have proper procedures been followed at all times regarding selling of company assets and why were some assets sold/given away to family members of current Management?
Why was Kevin Lagan given extremely commercially sensitive information over a year ago and what association does Kevin Lagan have with Paul O'Brien? Is it not the case that they are best buddies and worked in UTV together?
What price was paid for assets sold and is Mr O'Brien prepared to give you a list of those assets, who they were sold to, if the sale was advertised or put to tender and what prices were obtained?
How many road trucks and on- site vehicles have been sold? How were they advertised and what price was achieved for them?
Have products in the UK been undersold at a huge loss?
How many offers were received for those assets and DID ALL OF THE MONEY ACHIEVED GO INTO THE COMPANY ACCOUNTS?
2 You stated that you were told that the company is employing more today than at the time of the takeover. If you check the last accounts that were filed and an article that was published in the Irish Times at the time, it was conceded that approx. 200 people less were employed in the company than at the time of the takeover. We do not concur with that figure and believe that it is much more but the point is that PAUL O'BRIEN HAS CONTRADICTED HIMSELF if he is now telling you that more people are actually employed now.
Has Mr O'Brien been asked to explain why he closed down the Williamstown plant with a loss of over 30 jobs?
The simple fact of the matter is that hundreds of loyal and local employees have been sacked/ disposed off and more of O'Brien's cronies from faraway places have been brought on board the gravy train. Let me give you just one example:
THE I.T. TEAM THAT WERE IN SITU AT THE TIME OF THE TAKEOVER AND WHOSE SERVICES COST LESS THAN ONE MILLION EUROS WERE DISPOSED OF, IN FAVOUR OF MJ FLOOD WHOSE SERVICES ARE ALLEGED TO COST IN EXCESS OF 3 MILLION EUROS. HOW DOES THIS MAKE COMMERCIAL SENSE ESPECIALLY GIVEN THAT FLOOD DOES NOT EVEN HAVE AN OFFICE IN EITHER FERMANAGH OR CAVAN AND THE STAFF ARE PUT UP IN THE SLIEVE RUSSELL HOTEL AT THE COMPANY'S EXPENSE?
ARE YOU AWARE THAT FLOOD WAS PAUL O'BRIEN'S BEST MAN AT HIS WEDDING? Surely, as an investigative journalist, you will explore the "conflict of interest" situation further. Was the job put out to tender and if so, can proof be provided?
Is it not the case that there are dozens of legal actions being taken by disgruntled staff members who were sacked, bullied, intimidated or who are no longer able to endure the stress levels currently in the company?
3 It was revealed that CRH and Kingspan (competitors of the company situated close by) achieved extremely impressive profits in the last few years despite the recession so why is Aventas, under current Management, trading at a loss?
Why have the Aventas accounts not been filed?
Is it true that Paul O'Brien has missed the targets for Jan, Feb and March and has he been asked to explain this?
What was the pre-tax profit in 2013?
What is the forecast pre-tax profit for 2014?
2 We are being reliably informed by employees who are at the end of their tether, that the running of the once reputable and profitable company is now a SHAMBLES. Farmers need lime at this time of the year and can no longer rely on the company to provide same so they have to go elsewhere at great inconvenience. We are being told that the company is in complete disarray and it appears to stem from gross mismanagement which has resulted in the loss of orders due to:
a lack of raw material and the likelihood that they will soon run out of crucial raw materials as local farmers, suppliers and customers refuse to deal with current management, We are informed that sand is now being purchased elsewhere.
b lack of maintenance of plant and machinery resulting in company being unable to produce the product despite the fact that there is a market for it in UK and elsewhere. Major problems have been reported in the case of class 2 cement, polyurathene, polistyrene, glass, rooftiles, pre-stress and lite-weight blocks and it is evident that the company is no longer able to meet market demand.
c a completely disillusioned workforce who have no respect for a CEO who has no regard for workers and who takes one million and 89 thousand euros for himself, In some cases, workers in Plastic factories were told to go home at lunchtime because there was insufficient raw material to keep the factories running full time.
d being unable to deliver product to customers particularly in UK. Lorry Drivers in Quinn Group/Aventas were infuriated when O'Brien tried to sell them off to CEVA which would have resulted in compromising their terms and conditions and in many cases would have meant that the drivers would no longer have a job. Outside hauliers are equally disillusioned and disgusted and many have refused to engage with the current team. It has been reported that in the recent past, approx. 20 loads per day for export cannot be delivered because suitable staff were not available to prepare the necessary documentation.
On a final note, you asked me if we blamed Sean Quinn for any of this. I told you why we did not blame a man who had created over 7000 jobs, and who had been hung, drawn and quartered, and the only person to be jailed along with his son and all because he relied on the accounts of an Irish Bank, which was regulated by the Financial Regulator and supervised by the Government which we now know were FRAUDULENT. Notwithstanding this, the Quinn family offered to pay the State 2.8 billion euros but that offer was thrown in their face in favour of a strategy that has cost us billions of euros and thousands of jobs.
Can I ask you Colm, if you worked hard all your life for your family, your community, and those reliant on you, paid your taxes and invested your money and your families money, your life's savings in the house of your dreams, if you had the house surveyed and followed proper procedures regarding regulation etc and subsequently found that others had not followed proper regulations and that the house was in fact built on a foundation of sand, that you had been sold a pup, and that not alone was it worthless but that you and your entire family would be ridiculed, mocked, tortured and bankrupted and be prevented from earning a cent for many years as you tried to clear your name, do you think that the people who you supported all your life and indeed every man, woman and child with any sense of common decency or justice would blame you? I rest my case.
As I said to you Colm, I am not a business person. I never worked in the Quinn Group and I never knew Sean Quinn or any of his family until I decided to investigate the matter for myself and asked all the parties the hard questions. I am simply a concerned citizen and a concerned mother speaking on behalf of our tens of thousands of members. I am just reporting to you what employees have relayed to us and I trust that you will give fair consideration to the matters outlined in this correspondence. There are two sides to every story and we look forward to ours being highlighted.
Concerned Irish Citizens.
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