A letter received today for the attention of the Bondholders:

Bondholders------Please Listen!!

As a senior citizen from Quinn country I wish to make one final plea to the Bondholders, who, apparently have the last word on the future of our communities and therefore on the future of many of my friends' children and grandchildren. I never worked for the Quinn Group or Aventas but I know so many people who have worked there over the decades and many young people who still work there.

All my life I have lived in this area, although I worked elsewhere, and I remember so well what Derrylin, Ballyconnell and the surrounding areas were like before Sean Quinn started quarrying. The Quinn family lived in the heart of the community before that and were highly regarded but Sean's industries gave a new life and pride to the area and surrounding counties and the effect was inspiring and rousing.

Consequently we were all shocked when his Group was taken over and went out in our thousands to support him and continue to do so. However over the past 3 to 4 years shock has been replaced by anger, frustration and disgust at the happenings within his businesses.

The current management are arrogant, vicious and spiteful. Why else would they pay people to chisel the Quinn name off buildings and replace them by cheap, plastic signs; this will always be Quinn country irrespective of what names appear.

The constant sale of Quinn machines has appalled us; the failure to advertise them and sell to competitive customers outraged us. The exorbitant salaries they paid themselves from a business they claimed was insolvent was nauseating. Their selective favoritism of some employees and dismissal of others was perplexing. I could go on and on!

Now local business men want to buy it and employ ex-managers to run it; this seems like a great opportunity but it appears that there are deterrents being presented like the continuous sale of machines and bonuses being sought for already overpaid managers to name but a few.

The men involved in QBRC are all held in high esteem and have proved their abilities in various fields over the decades. They are not motivated by greed, jealousy or arrogance but by nobility, generosity and community spirit; they want to carry on as Sean Quinn began and keep the area peaceful and industrious. If Sean Quinn is accepting this arrangement we can not understand why it is not embraced whole-heartedly.

Last winter the disillusionment and vexation spilled over in some terrible acts of sabotage and there is a great fear that this could be repeated in the future if this deal does not proceed. People locally are unanimous in their belief that with lack of materials (and the adamant refusal of local farmers to sell to current managers); lack of machines; continual loss of customers; lack of expertise and inability to motivate staff that the businesses will be completely ruined in a short time.

I appeal to you, the Bondholders, to finalize this deal promptly for the sake of all of us in this area.