Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The witnesses have been very aggressive and dogmatic in making many of their assertions. The difficulty arises when one reads the board minutes. In that regard, I am zeroing in on the issue of PIMCO because I believe it is at the core of how the board did its business and the witnesses' stewardship of the board. The assertion that the board was insistent as regards PIMCO is not reflected in the minutes. There is no record of a decision by the board to declare the PIMCO bid finished. On the contrary, we have other material which contradicts and casts doubt on this.

Mr. Soffe has stated the obligations that apply under the NAMA Act and I have no reason to doubt his sincerity or that of any of the witnesses in that regard. However, my reading of the material is that, at stages, the witnesses were either half asleep or quite willing to let things go by the by in their haste to get rid of the portfolio.