Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Apologies have been received from Deputy Marc Mac Sharry.

Today the committee will continue its examination of Special Report No. 94 of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the National Asset Management Agency, or NAMA as it is better known, and its sale of Project Eagle, the code name given to the sale of its Northern Ireland loan portfolio. To date, we have met the Comptroller and Auditor General; representatives of NAMA, including members of the board at the time; the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, and his officials; Mr. Brian Rowntree, a former member of NAMA's Northern Ireland advisory committee, or the NIAC as it is known; the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and representatives of the Chief Operating Office of Cerberus Capital Management, the investment firm that purchased Project Eagle.

I welcome Mr. Patrick Long, managing director, Lazard and Company Limited. I thank him for travelling to Dublin to assist the committee in its examination of NAMA's sale of Project Eagle. Lazard is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services. It has offices in New York, Paris and London. Its role in the Project Eagle sale was as loan sale adviser to NAMA. We invited its representatives to appear before the committee to discuss the details of services it was contracted to provide for NAMA; its knowledge of and input into the sale process and its design and implementation; its understanding of the circumstances of PIMCO's withdrawal from the process and its letter of assurance to NAMA following completion of the sale.

We are also joined today by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr. Seamus McCarthy, and, from his office, Mr. John Riordan, deputy director of audit.

I remind members, the witness and those in the Gallery that all mobile phones should be switched off completely. I advise the witness that by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, he is protected by absolute privilege in respect of his evidence to the committee. If he is directed by the committee to cease giving evidence in relation to a particular matter and he continues to so do, he is entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of that evidence. He is directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and he is asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, he should not criticise or make charges against any 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 of Standing Order 186 to the effect that the committee shall refrain from enquiring into the merits of a policy or policies of the Government or a Minister of the Government or of the merits of the objectives of such a policy. Finally, 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 a formal opening statement from Mr. Patrick Long, but he will make some opening comments and observations. Thereafter, our lead speaker will be Deputy Connolly, who will be followed by Deputy Catherine Murphy. I propose that the first speaker will have 20 minutes, the second questioner will have 15 minutes and each speaker after that will have ten minutes. I will keep to that timetable. If people want to contribute a second time, they will get the opportunity to do so. I would like members to be focused on today's issue. I ask Mr. Long to make his opening remarks.