Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Daly, Mr. McDonagh and their colleagues. How did NAMA become aware of the issues with regard to Mr. Farrell? This question is relevant. Was it flagged by an outside party and, if so, does this reflect on NAMA's IT security systems? In his address Mr. Daly mentioned that to the best of his knowledge the details of fewer than ten properties were forwarded electronically by Mr. Farrell to his wife and subsequently to his private e-mail account.

Is it not the case that NAMA cannot be certain that the information was not communicated verbally or printed and disseminated in other forms? That is a critical issue. The real issue is the residual debt that will be left by the loan portfolio holders when their arrangements have been worked out, which we are led to believe will be completed by 2020. Is there not a danger that NAMA has been exposed to litigation by the residual debt holders based on a possible compromise in the context of the possible dissemination of the information and what NAMA subsequently acquired for their portfolios, which might have been greater had that information not been so widely disseminated? Whereas Mr. Daly can say now that the information had not been forwarded electronically, he cannot say definitively that it has not been communicated in a variety of other ways, which could compromise the best interests of the organisation and, ultimately, the taxpayer.

I have two other questions on this issue. Is it not abundantly clear that the two lessons that need to be learned from this are that no NAMA staff member should be allowed to purchase any property in a NAMA portfolio and that this prohibition should apply to all other third party organisations with which NAMA deals? This step could immediately ease the situation. It should be pointed out in black and white that no NAMA staff member or member of a third party organisation which deals with NAMA is entitled to purchase properties of this ilk.

I was interested in Deputy Michael McGrath's line of questioning in terms of the advertisement of properties for sale. The dogs in the street know that there is huge concern in Cork about vast tracts of agricultural land in the ring of Cork city that were sold without any advertising. This type of concern brings the organisation into disrepute. I am not interested in undermining NAMA. I want it to succeed. However, these issues need to be dealt with properly. No NAMA employee or employee of an associated institution or organisation should be entitled to acquire NAMA properties, the sale of which must be advertised. Perhaps Mr. Daly would respond to those issues, following which I have one further question to ask.