John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will finish on that. Our target date is some time in September for both issues raised by Deputy Collins and the other issues about NAMA raised generally. On the same issue I draw the attention of the members of the committee to correspondence received last week. While we are do not and are not supposed to deal with individual cases, it is difficult to avoid them when they raise the issues that all the members have raised this morning. Even on the recent sale of property which a Dublin sporting organisation was interested in, it is difficult to explain how the social dividend is supposed to operate. Second, relative to the correspondence before us today, I draw the attention of members to the public document from Patrick and Pauline Coughlan who say that at this stage NAMA owes them €1.7 million while everyone else has been paid. They raise that issue. They also point out that, "It is basically bully-boy tactics by doing what they want. 'There is nothing you can do about it and don't be bothering us any more'". Essentially that is their description of what happened to them in NAMA. The final sentence refers to the loss to the taxpayer. When one reads correspondence like that I believe there is an onus on NAMA to explain the circumstances relative to this individual case or any other case or their general approach to these things that would give rise to people believing that they are owed €1.7 million and believing that they are being bullied into a position, the taxpayer is not getting money and that for some reason the State is using its vast resources to deal with a citizen or with a small business by use of a sledgehammer. I do not think that is what NAMA was intended for. In my opinion it is reasonable for the committee to ask in general terms all of what has been asked by the Deputy and for a response to the accusations contained in that letter dated 5 June 2015. We will deal with these matters in September.

Turning to matters arising from last week's meeting, we dealt with correspondence from Jim Breslin, Secretary General of the Department of Health regarding allegations of abuse of children with intellectual disabilities in a foster home in the south east. That matter is being dealt with in a letter dated 5 June 2015 in which they say a senior counsel is to conduct an independent examination of the process used by the HSE in commissioning the Devine and Resilience Ireland reviews and the adequacy and approach taken to the conduct of the two exercises. I am not quite sure whether that is just in relation to the procurement process itself or if it will go beyond that but at least a senior counsel has been approved. Next week we will deal with a short report on procurement relative to the HSE and we will publish that on Wednesday presumably, with the other reports.

I refer to correspondence deferred from last week from Mr. Tom Boland, CEO of the Higher Education Authority. This relates to a matter raised by Deputy Connaughton about the €436,000. Does Deputy Connaughton wish to comment?