Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

There was a lot of local engagement available to Mr. Cushnahan. He had represented many of those involved in the process. Someone putting together a bid will include the costs, for example, if €15 million is paid for advice that will be included in the cost of the bid.

In its statement to us last week Cerberus said:

Ultimately, Cerberus agreed to the fee on the basis that the services offered were expected to be particularly useful in the circumstances and, when looked at as a percentage of the reserve price, it was approximately 1.1% which we viewed as within a customary advisory fee range. Brown Rudnick also told Cerberus that if Cerberus did not wish to enter into this arrangement, it would offer its services to another bidder.

Given that the real estate sector in Northern Ireland would be quite small and people would know each other, that is quite a threatening statement. Cerberus had no choice but to take on Brown Rudnick and Tughans, and Cushnahan went with that. Is that how Mr. Long would see it or would he accept that?