Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Today, the committee will continue its examination of the Comptroller and Auditor General's special report No. 94 on the National Asset Management Agency, or NAMA as it is better known, and its sale of Project Eagle. Project Eagle was the code name given to the sale of NAMA's Northern Ireland loan portfolio. To date, we have met the Comptroller and Auditor General on his report, representatives of NAMA, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, and his officials, Mr. Brian Rowntree, a former member of NAMA's Northern Ireland advisory committee, or NIAC as it is known, and the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Mr. Martin McGuinness. We have also met three members of the current board.

I welcome three former members of the board of the National Asset Management Agency and thank them for making themselves available to the committee. We are joined byMs Éilish Finan, Mr. John Mulcahy and Mr. John Corrigan. Ms Finan was on the board until December 2013, Mr. Mulcahy was on the board until January 2014 and I understand Mr. Corrigan resigned on 4 January 2015 when he retired as chief executive of the National Treasury Management Agency. The witnesses cannot answer questions relating to matters after those dates, for example, when the Project Eagle sale went through and when PIMCO withdrew.

I remind members, witnesses and those in the Visitors Gallery to switch off all mobile telephones. I advise witnesses that, by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to this committee. If they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence in relation to a particular matter and continue to so do, they are entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise nor make charges against a person, persons or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable.

Members are reminded of the provisions in Standing Order 186 that the committee shall also refrain from inquiring into the merits of a policy or policies of the Government or a Minister of the Government or the merits of the objectives of such policies. Members are reminded of the long-standing ruling of the Chair to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the House or an official by name in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

We do not have any opening statement today. We will go directly to questions from members of the committee. The first speaker today is Deputy Catherine Murphy.